Phenobarbital Sodium and Skeletal muscle myopathies

• Generic Name: phenobarbital
• Dosage Forms: n.a.
• Other Brand Names:

  Solfoton, Luminal

Relief of anxiety, tension, and apprehension. However, barbiturates used infrequently for routine sedation, since there are few clinical situations in which oral barbiturates provide a safety or efficacy advantage over nonbarbiturate sedatives/hypnotics.

Short-term treatment of insomnia. However, generally not used orally as a hypnotic because several hours are required to achieve maximal effects and barbiturates have decreased effectiveness for sleep induction and maintenance after 2 weeks.

Withdrawal of barbiturate or nonbarbiturate hypnotics in patients who are physically dependent on these drugs.

Preoperatively, to produce sedation and relieve anxiety.

Management of tonic-clonic seizures and partial seizures; used alone (particularly in infants and young children) or, more commonly, in combination with phenytoin or other anticonvulsants.

Prevention of febrile seizures in infants and young children.

Second-line agent in the termination of status epilepticus; may be useful to prevent seizure recurrence after seizures are initially terminated with other anticonvulsants (e.g., diazepam, phenytoin) or for termination of status epilepticus that does not respond to initial therapy with other anticonvulsants. Usefulness of parenteral phenobarbital in terminating acute seizure episodes is limited by its slow onset of action.

Prophylactic management of epilepsy.

Prevention and treatment of hyperbilirubinemia in neonates.

Has been used to reduce bilirubin concentrations in patients with congenital nonhemolytic unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia or chronic intrahepatic cholestasis.

Has been used in the management of hyperlipemia associated with intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholestasis.