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Sodium pentathol is an anesthetic drug that causes depressed respiratory and cardiac function, and potential airway obstruction. Side effects include headache, nausea, delirium, prolonged periods of sleep, and water in the lungs.
Effects
Like all major anesthetics, sodium pentathol depresses the respiratory system and can result in death if not administered correctly by a medical professional.
Function
Sodium pentathol belongs to the barbiturate family and is used mostly as a fast-acting anesthetic for surgery. It is also used experimentally in small doses to treat anxiety, and in some states in the U.S. to euthanize prisoners sentenced to die by lethal injection.
Warning
Sodium pentathol can easily cause death when administered incorrectly. It is often used for assisted suicide because of its capacity to induce sleep quickly, followed by coma and painless death.
History
Sodium pentathol was used in World War II and at Pearl Harbor because of its portability and fast-acting anesthetic effects. It is also known popularly as "truth serum" because in small doses it loosens inhibitions, allowing people to reveal what they normally would keep to themselves.
Considerations
Sodium pentathol causes death easily and so should only be used by licensed physicians, medical professionals, and anesthesiologists. When administered correctly, side effects are mild, but more serious risks are always present.
Source:
Co-administration of pentoxifylline and thiopental
ADMINISTRATION AND COMPOUNDING
The executioner's drug- sodium thiopental
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