Anxiolytic Sedatives, Hypnotics, and Antipsychotics

Barbiturate overdose may be treated with gastric lavage and oral administration of activated charcoal. Supportive therapy of cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal function also should be provided. Coadministration of alcohol and barbiturates may increase the sedative effect of chloral hydrate. Long-term use of barbiturates leads to dependence. Sudden discontinuation of an antipsychotic drug may cause withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, rhinorrhea, sweating, insomnia, restlessness, and vertigo.151 

Care should be exercised when handling alprazolam to avoid skin contact and inhalation. Amylobarbitone is incompatible with many drugs, particularly 

Chlormethiazole Edisylate Chlormethiazole edisylate may penetrate or be adsorbed onto plastics and may soften plastic sets of intravenous infusions. Adverse reactions such as thrombophlebitis, fever, and headache were reported in children receiving infusions of this drug, presumably due to reaction of components of infusions sets. For intravenous infusions, the use of Teflon intravenous cannulas or motor-driven glass syringes may be preferred over plastic or glass sets containing silastic cannulae.153154 

Diazepam Diazepam should not be administered with some plastics/PVC/ volume control chambers of cellulose proprionate. Administered sets containing glass, polyolefin, polypropylene, and polyethylene may be used for such infusions. Diazepam is incompatible with many drugs, hence it should not be mixed with infusions containing other drugs.155156 

Droperidol Droperidol has pH-dependent incompatibility with many drugs. It is not compatible with nafcillin sodium, fluorouracil, folic acid, frusemide, heparin, methotrexate, or barbiturates. Droperidol should not be stored in PVC bags containing intravenous infusions, although some solutions appear to be stable.157 

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Anxiolytic sedatives, hypnotics, and antipsychotics are lumped together in this section because all of them act by some form of intervention with the brain and... 

CNS Sedative-hypnotic Anticonvulsant Muscle relaxant Anesthetic Analgesic (narcotic and non-narcotic) Anxiolytic Dementia/cognition Antidepressant Neuroleptic/antipsychotic... 

Anxiolytics are prescribed when the patient s anxiety reaches a level where the patient becomes disabled and is unable to perform normal activities. Anxiolytics have a sedative-hypnotic effect on the patient, but not an antipsychotic effect. 

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