Barbiturates will not be prescribed without epilepsy! Pediatric neurologist: 3 types of withdrawal symptoms: seek medical attention immediately
Where do phenobarbital drugs come from? Doctor: No prescription will be issued for non-epileptic patients
Taiwanese are concerned about the incident of children being improperly fed barbiturates. Pediatric neurologist Tsai Wen-shin pointed out in a post that among the drugs currently being tested in school children, include Phenobarbital and benzodiazepem (BZD), which pediatric neurologists treat specific patients with epilepsy. Medications prescribed to children are not used by non-epileptic children. During the period of taking Phenobarbital, the blood concentration must be monitored regularly to avoid the drug concentration being too low and losing the therapeutic effect, or the concentration being too high causing adverse side effects.
Dr. Cai Wenxin said that the concentration of phenobarbital drugs directly reflects the patient’s drug compliance. Usually if you don’t take medicine for a day or two, a certain barbital concentration will still be detected in the body. On the contrary, if the test is so low that it cannot be detected, It can be judged that the drug has been discontinued for several days to more than several weeks. This is related to the length of the half-life of barbiturates metabolized and eliminated in the human body.
In terms of pharmacokinetics, after one half-life of a drug, the drug concentration in the blood will drop by half. After 3.3 half-lives, only 10% concentration will remain, and after 4.3 half-lives, only 5% will remain. Therefore, 4 to 5 half-lives are usually used as the time for the drug to be excreted from the body.
Dr. Cai Wenxin pointed out that when Phenobarbital is used as a drug, the half-life of the oral drug is about 100 hours (the distribution range is 48 hours to 120 hours, and the younger the age, the longer it may be). It takes about 4-5 half-lives to be completely eliminated from the body. Therefore, it may take as long as After 3-4 weeks, no barbiturate residue can be detected in the body.
Will Phenobarbital hurt the brain? 3 types of withdrawal symptoms: seek medical attention immediately
Dr. Cai Wenxin pointed out that Phenobarbital is an anti-epileptic drug that is usually only used in infants and young children under 2 years old with epilepsy. It is a drug prescribed by a doctor and cannot be obtained freely. There is no exposure to Phenobarbital in the general environmental background. Therefore, it is impossible to detect drug concentrations in the body without taking Phenobarbital orally or injecting it.
Parents are worried that barbiturates may damage the immature brain nerves of young children. Dr. Cai Wenxin reminds that when children experience unexplained lethargy, sleep disorders, or sudden changes in temperament (irritability, emotional instability, restlessness), pediatricians will Check in detail whether there is any exposure to drugs and poisons, including Phenobarbital and BZD sedatives and hypnotics, and initiate relevant notifications. When a child shows signs of “withdrawal syndrome” that affect the nervous system, it is recommended to seek medical treatment as soon as possible:
Unexplained drowsiness, confusion, and changes in sleeping habits
Unexplained personality changes, such as bad temper, irritability, restlessness, restlessness, and self-mutilation
Unexplained dizziness, unsteady gait, nystagmus, and walking crookedly as if drunk.
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