Methohexital Sodium—a New Ultrashort Acting Barbiturate

Use of methohexital for elective intubation in neonates

“…Good relaxation, sedation, and sleep during intubation, with a total recovery within 10 minutes, were found. Heart rate and blood pressure did not vary during the ensuing 30 minutes, despite the fact no atropine was given 4. This contrasts with other reports in older children and adults where tachycardia was found after the injection of methohexital 27-29.…”

“…We must, however, await further investigations concerning ED50-values for neonates and premature infants before advising the regular and/or repeated use of this drug for different procedures. The dose we used is recommended by Westrin et al 4 for infants, but we do not know the exact ED50-values for neonates or premature babies. The redistribution could be different, taking into account the higher percentage of extracellular fluid in this group of patients.…”

A Comparison Between Methohexitone and Thiopentone as Induction Agents for Caesarean Section Anaesthesia

“…workers are agreed that recovery after methohexitone is more rapid than after equivalent doses of thiopentone. Wyant, Dobkin and Aasheim (1957), Friedman (1959), Egbert, Oech andEckenhoff (1959), Jolly (1960), Wyant and Barr (1960) and Taylor and Stoelting (1960) all found that the duration of action of methohexitone was shorter than that of thiopentone, although Heaton (1956) and Redish and colleagues (1958) could find no statistical difference in recovery times between the two agents. Other features which might affect the suitability of the drug for use in obstetrical anaesthesia are its respiratory depressant effect and its action on the cardiovascular system.…”

Anaesthesia for Bronchoscopy: Examination of a Standard Technique

“…Pain on injection: Taylor & Stoelting (1960) reported pain with the injection of 1% methohexitone in 60% of a sample of several thousand patients. This pain is an important drawback to the use of methohexitone as an induction agent.…”