What is the duration of action for sodium thiopental?

What is the duration of action for sodium thiopental?

• A. 30-60 seconds
• B. 5-10 minutes
• C. 1-2 hours
• D. 15-30 minutes

Answer: (B)

Sodium thiopental is an ultra-short-acting induction agent. It crosses into the brain rapidly, producing loss of consciousness within about 30–60 seconds due to its high lipophilicity. But the effect doesn’t last long because the drug quickly redistributes from the brain to other tissues, especially fat and muscle, which drops the brain concentration and ends the hypnotic effect. Metabolism by the liver then clears it, so the overall duration after a single induction dose is typically 5–10 minutes. The other timeframes reflect either onset timing (30–60 seconds) or values longer than what a single bolus typically yields (1–2 hours or 15–30 minutes).

Sodium thiopental is an ultra-short-acting induction agent. It crosses into the brain rapidly, producing loss of consciousness within about 30–60 seconds due to its high lipophilicity. But the effect doesn’t last long because the drug quickly redistributes from the brain to other tissues, especially fat and muscle, which drops the brain concentration and ends the hypnotic effect. Metabolism by the liver then clears it, so the overall duration after a single induction dose is typically 5–10 minutes. The other timeframes reflect either onset timing (30–60 seconds) or values longer than what a single bolus typically yields (1–2 hours or 15–30 minutes).