Methohexital

General

• Type: Sedative agents
• Dosage Forms:
• Common Trade Names: Brevital

Adult Dosing

• Dose 1-1.5mg/kg

Pediatric Dosing

• >1mo: 6.6-10 mg/kg IM administered as a 5% (50 mg/mL) solution

Special Populations

• Pregnancy Rating: B
• Lactation risk: Excreted in breastmilk
• Renal Dosing: Caution
• Hepatic Dosing: Caution

Contraindications

• Allergy to class/drug
• Porphyria
• Relative: cardiovascular disease, hypotension, respiratory disease
• Caution if: severe anemia, extreme obesity, debilitated patients, renal/hepatic/endocrine/circulatory dysfunction, obstructive pulmonary disease, severe HTN, status asthmaticus

Adverse Reactions

Serious

• Laryngospasm
• Apnea, respiratory depression
• Hypotension
• Myocardial depression
• Seizures

Common

• Hiccups, muscle twitching, coughing
• Shivering
• Salivation
• Emergence reaction
• Anxiety, restlessness
• Headache
• Nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain
• Erythema, pruritus, urticaria
• Rhinitis
• Thrombophlebitis
• Injection site pain

Pharmacology

• Half-life: 3-6h
• Metabolism: Hepatic
• Excretion: Urine
• Mechanism of Action: ultra short acting barbituate
• Onset < 1 minute; Duration 10 minutes

Comments

• No analgesic effect

Indications by Condition

The following table is automatically generated from disease/condition pages across WikEM.

Indication	Dose	Context	Route	Population
Procedural sedation	0.75-1 mg/kg	Procedural sedation	IV	Adult

See Also

• Procedural sedation