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Pentobarbital Side Effects

The most commonly reported side effects of pentobarbital include off label use, drug ineffective for unapproved indication, and toxicity to various agents, based on 944 FDA adverse event reports from 2004 to 2025. 18.1% of reports found the drug to be ineffective.

Pentobarbital side effects

Percentages show how often each reaction appears relative to total reports for pentobarbital.

1
Drug Ineffective18.1%171
2
Off Label Use15.3%144
3
Drug Ineffective For Unapproved Indication10.9%103
4
Toxicity To Various Agents9.9%93
5
Status Epilepticus9.5%90
6
Completed Suicide5.7%54
7
Oxygen Saturation Decreased5.6%53
8
Seizure4.8%45
9
Multiple-drug Resistance4.8%45
10
Metabolic Acidosis4.7%44
11
Propofol Infusion Syndrome4.7%44
12
Drug Hypersensitivity4.6%43
13
Shock4.1%39
14
Blood Creatine Phosphokinase Increased3.6%34
15
Arrhythmia3.6%34

These are voluntary reports and do not establish that pentobarbital caused these reactions.

Report severity

85.3%Serious805 reports
41.0%Hospitalizations387 reports
26.5%Fatal250 reports

Seriousness is determined by the reporter, not by OpenClaim.

Pentobarbital drug interactions

Other drugs that appear in adverse event reports alongside pentobarbital. Drugs flagged as a suspected cause appear in the first column. Drugs taken at the same time but not suspected appear in the second.

Also suspected

1
Midazolam37.7%356
2
Levetiracetam31.4%296
3
Ketamine-hydrochloride24.9%235
4
Lacosamide24.4%230
5
Lorazepam20.3%192
6
Propofol19.4%183
7
Phenytoin18.6%176
8
Phenobarbital-sodium15.1%143
9
Valproic-acid14.7%139
10
Topiramate13.9%131
11
Clobazam13.2%125
12
Oxcarbazepine8.7%82
13
Perampanel8.7%82
14
Fentanyl6.3%59
15
Diazepam5.8%55

Taken alongside

1
Midazolam12.4%117
2
Lorazepam10.9%103
3
Phenytoin8.8%83
4
Methylprednisolone8.3%78
5
Vancomycin8.1%76
6
Levetiracetam7.8%74
7
Acyclovir7.3%69
8
Propofol7.1%67
9
Ketamine-hydrochloride7.1%67
10
Ceftriaxone-sodium6.6%62
11
Valproic-acid6.6%62
12
Phenobarbital-sodium6.4%60
13
Clobazam5.0%47
14
Lacosamide4.7%44
15
Diazepam4.2%40

Co-occurrence in adverse event reports does not establish a drug interaction. Patients often take multiple medications, and these lists reflect prescribing patterns rather than causal relationships. Consult a healthcare provider about potential drug interactions.

Who reports pentobarbital side effects

47.0% of pentobarbital adverse event reports involve female patients and 36.9% involve male patients. The largest age group is adult at 49%. These figures reflect who reports side effects, not underlying risk.

Sex

Female47.0%
Male36.9%
Unknown16.1%

Age group

< 211.6%
2–1125.2%
12–176.2%
18–6448.9%
65+8.1%

What is pentobarbital used for

Conditions and purposes for which patients were taking pentobarbital when the adverse event was reported.

Abortion InducedAlcohol PoisoningAnaesthesiaAnaesthetic PremedicationAntiinflammatory TherapyAssisted SuicideAnaesthesiaAnaesthesia ProcedureBody Temperature IncreasedBrain OedemaBrain OedemaCentral Venous CatheterisationComaCompleted SuicideComputerised Tomogram

Showing 15 of 86 indications

Pentobarbital brand names and reporting trend

Pentobarbital is sold under brand names including Nembutal, Nembutal Sodium.

Brand names

Nembutal899
Nembutal Sodium147

Quarterly reports (20042025)

20052010201520202025

An upward trend reflects increased FAERS reporting overall, not necessarily increased risk.

Taking pentobarbital with another medication?

Ask OpenClaim about your specific drug combination. Get a sourced report using FDA data, drug labels, and medical literature.