Severe pentobarbital poisoning treated after two sessions of intermittent hemodialysis: A case report

Background: Pentobarbital is a short-acting barbiturate that can cause life-threatening central nervous system, respiratory, and cardiovascular depression if massively overdosed. Case report: This case report describes a 38-year-old female who entered a deep coma after ingesting 2.45 g of pentobarbi...

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Main Authors: Sohma Miyamoto, Shutaro Isokawa, Norio Otani, Masatoshi Miyamoto, Yoshito Kamijo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:JEM Reports
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773232025000380
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author Sohma Miyamoto
Shutaro Isokawa
Norio Otani
Masatoshi Miyamoto
Yoshito Kamijo
author_facet Sohma Miyamoto
Shutaro Isokawa
Norio Otani
Masatoshi Miyamoto
Yoshito Kamijo
author_sort Sohma Miyamoto
collection DOAJ
description Background: Pentobarbital is a short-acting barbiturate that can cause life-threatening central nervous system, respiratory, and cardiovascular depression if massively overdosed. Case report: This case report describes a 38-year-old female who entered a deep coma after ingesting 2.45 g of pentobarbital. She had severe respiratory depression and hypotension refractory to fluid administration. The patient was intubated, placed under mechanical ventilation, and given continuous intravenous administration of norepinephrine. She then underwent 2 sessions of intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) lasting 4 h each, after which her clinical condition rapidly improved. The serum pentobarbital concentration determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LD/MS/MS) decreased rapidly from 60.61 to 23.75 μg/ml after the first session and from 26.16 to 9.34 μg/ml after the second session. The half-lives of pentobarbital were estimated to be 3.8 and 4.1 h during the first and second sessions, respectively, 157.5 h between the two sessions, and 20.4 h after the second session. The case highlights the potential benefit of IHD in managing pentobarbital toxicity, where enhanced drug clearance may shorten intubation and intensive care unit stay. Why should an emergency physician should be aware of this?: In severe pentobarbital poisoning, hemodialysis may be effective to enhance drug clearance.
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spelling doaj-art-5ee1099812e54137afc2db8e75a9e6782025-08-20T03:30:39ZengElsevierJEM Reports2773-23202025-06-014210017410.1016/j.jemrpt.2025.100174Severe pentobarbital poisoning treated after two sessions of intermittent hemodialysis: A case reportSohma Miyamoto0Shutaro Isokawa1Norio Otani2Masatoshi Miyamoto3Yoshito Kamijo4Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, St. Luke's International Hospital, Japan; Corresponding author. 9-1 Akashicho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, St. Luke's International Hospital, JapanDepartment of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, St. Luke's International Hospital, JapanClinical Toxicology Center, Saitama Medical University Hospital, JapanClinical Toxicology Center, Saitama Medical University Hospital, JapanBackground: Pentobarbital is a short-acting barbiturate that can cause life-threatening central nervous system, respiratory, and cardiovascular depression if massively overdosed. Case report: This case report describes a 38-year-old female who entered a deep coma after ingesting 2.45 g of pentobarbital. She had severe respiratory depression and hypotension refractory to fluid administration. The patient was intubated, placed under mechanical ventilation, and given continuous intravenous administration of norepinephrine. She then underwent 2 sessions of intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) lasting 4 h each, after which her clinical condition rapidly improved. The serum pentobarbital concentration determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LD/MS/MS) decreased rapidly from 60.61 to 23.75 μg/ml after the first session and from 26.16 to 9.34 μg/ml after the second session. The half-lives of pentobarbital were estimated to be 3.8 and 4.1 h during the first and second sessions, respectively, 157.5 h between the two sessions, and 20.4 h after the second session. The case highlights the potential benefit of IHD in managing pentobarbital toxicity, where enhanced drug clearance may shorten intubation and intensive care unit stay. Why should an emergency physician should be aware of this?: In severe pentobarbital poisoning, hemodialysis may be effective to enhance drug clearance.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773232025000380PentobarbitalRenal replacement therapy (RRT)Intermittent hemodialysis (IHD)Suicide attemptLiquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LD/MS/MS)
spellingShingle Sohma Miyamoto
Shutaro Isokawa
Norio Otani
Masatoshi Miyamoto
Yoshito Kamijo
Severe pentobarbital poisoning treated after two sessions of intermittent hemodialysis: A case report
JEM Reports
Pentobarbital
Renal replacement therapy (RRT)
Intermittent hemodialysis (IHD)
Suicide attempt
Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LD/MS/MS)
title Severe pentobarbital poisoning treated after two sessions of intermittent hemodialysis: A case report
title_full Severe pentobarbital poisoning treated after two sessions of intermittent hemodialysis: A case report
title_fullStr Severe pentobarbital poisoning treated after two sessions of intermittent hemodialysis: A case report
title_full_unstemmed Severe pentobarbital poisoning treated after two sessions of intermittent hemodialysis: A case report
title_short Severe pentobarbital poisoning treated after two sessions of intermittent hemodialysis: A case report
title_sort severe pentobarbital poisoning treated after two sessions of intermittent hemodialysis a case report
topic Pentobarbital
Renal replacement therapy (RRT)
Intermittent hemodialysis (IHD)
Suicide attempt
Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LD/MS/MS)
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773232025000380
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AT noriootani severepentobarbitalpoisoningtreatedaftertwosessionsofintermittenthemodialysisacasereport
AT masatoshimiyamoto severepentobarbitalpoisoningtreatedaftertwosessionsofintermittenthemodialysisacasereport
AT yoshitokamijo severepentobarbitalpoisoningtreatedaftertwosessionsofintermittenthemodialysisacasereport