Abstract
Summary
The first undesirable effect of a single sublethal dose of pentothal sodium is sudden cessation of respiration. Repeated administration of small amounts, sufficient to maintain light anesthesia, suddenly produces signs of heart muscle poisoning. There seems to be a definite cumulative action. Whether this is due to damage of liver tissue, or whether the drug is changed into simpler, larger dose, and longer acting forms (diethyl-barbiturate?) we are not prepared to suggest. The longer the administration is continued, the more does the threat seem to shift to the more fatal circulatory side.
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