Barbiturates for acute neurological and neurosurgical emergencies--do they still have a role?

A number of clinical studies have reported poor clinical outcomes for patients treated with barbiturate therapy in acute neurological and neurosurgical emergencies. Barbiturate therapy, as currently practised with thiopentone and pentobarbitone at least, is also associated with a prolonged post-infusion period of clinical unresponsiveness. Hence, the popularity of barbiturate therapy for sedation of critically ill neurological and neurosurgical patients has declined over the past decade. A retrospective study of traumatic brain injury patients treated at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, with high-dose thiopentone therapy between 1987 and 1997 has found disappointing results with a 1-month mortality outcome of 50% (14 of 28 patients). Nevertheless, barbiturate therapy remains a consideration for patients with severe cranial trauma in whom preferred treatments have failed to control intracranial or cerebral perfusion pressures. More favourable results ( approximately 10% 1-month mortality rate) were encountered for patients with refractory vasospasm complicating subarachnoid haemorrhage or intracerebral haemorrhage complicating supratentorial arteriovenous malformation resection. A well designed, prospective and randomised controlled trial may be of value in further determining the role of barbiturate therapy in acute neurovascular emergencies refractory to standard therapy.