Test Catalog

Test Id : PENTS

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Pentobarbital, Serum

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Overview

Test Catalog

Useful For
Suggests clinical disorders or settings where the test may be helpful

Monitoring of pentobarbital therapy treatment

Method Name
A short description of the method used to perform the test

Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS)

NY State Available
Indicates the status of NY State approval and if the test is orderable for NY State clients.

Yes

Reporting Name
Lists a shorter or abbreviated version of the Published Name for a test

Pentobarbital, S

Aliases
Lists additional common names for a test, as an aid in searching

Nembutal (Pentobarbital)

Pentobarbital (Nembutal)

Specimen Type
Describes the specimen type validated for testing

Serum Red

Specimen Required
Defines the optimal specimen required to perform the test and the preferred volume to complete testing

Supplies: Sarstedt Aliquot Tube, 5 mL (T914)

Collection Container/Tube: Red top (Serum gel/SST are not acceptable)

Submission Container/Tube: Plastic vial

Specimen Volume: 2 mL

Collection Instructions:

1. Draw blood immediately before next scheduled dose.

2. Centrifuge and aliquot serum in plastic vial within 2 hours of collection.

Forms

If not ordering electronically, complete, print, and send a Therapeutics Test Request (T831) with the specimen.

Specimen Minimum Volume
Defines the amount of sample necessary to provide a clinically relevant result as determined by the testing laboratory. The minimum volume is sufficient for one attempt at testing.

0.7 mL

Reject Due To
Identifies specimen types and conditions that may cause the specimen to be rejected

Gross hemolysis Reject
Gross lipemia OK
Gross icterus OK

Specimen Stability Information
Provides a description of the temperatures required to transport a specimen to the performing laboratory, alternate acceptable temperatures are also included

Specimen Type Temperature Time Special Container
Serum Red Refrigerated (preferred) 14 days
Ambient 14 days
Frozen 14 days

Useful For
Suggests clinical disorders or settings where the test may be helpful

Monitoring of pentobarbital therapy treatment

Clinical Information
Discusses physiology, pathophysiology, and general clinical aspects, as they relate to a laboratory test

Pentobarbital is a short-acting barbiturate with anticonvulsant and sedative-hypnotic properties. Uses include sedation induction, relief of preoperative anxiety, control of status epilepticus or seizures resulting from meningitis, tetanus, alcohol withdrawal, poisons, chorea, or eclampsia, and induction of coma in the management of cerebral ischemia and increased intracranial pressure that may follow stroke or head trauma.(1,2)

 

Pentobarbital is administered orally, parenterally, and rectally. The duration of hypnotic effect is about 1 to 4 hours. The drug distributes throughout the body with about 35% to 45% of a dose bound to plasma proteins in the blood. Metabolism takes place in the liver via oxidation to the inactive metabolite, hydroxypentobarbital. Elimination is biphasic; half-life is about 4 hours in the first phase, and 35 to 50 hours in the second phase. Excretion occurs through the urine, mainly as glucuronide conjugates of metabolites, with only about 1% excreted as unchanged drug.(1,2) Tolerance to the hypnotic effects of pentobarbital occurs after about 2 weeks of continuous dosing.

Reference Values
Describes reference intervals and additional information for interpretation of test results. May include intervals based on age and sex when appropriate. Intervals are Mayo-derived, unless otherwise designated. If an interpretive report is provided, the reference value field will state this.

Therapeutic range

Hypnotic: 1-5 mcg/mL

Therapeutic coma: 20-50 mcg/mL

Reducing intracranial pressure: 30-40 mcg/mL

This degree of sedation requires artificial respiratory support.

Toxic concentration: >10 mcg/mL

Interpretation
Provides information to assist in interpretation of the test results

Pentobarbital concentrations above 10 mcg/mL have been associated with toxicity.

Cautions
Discusses conditions that may cause diagnostic confusion, including improper specimen collection and handling, inappropriate test selection, and interfering substances

The concentration at which toxicity occurs varies and results should be interpreted in light of clinical situation.

 

Specimens collected in serum gel tubes are not acceptable because the drug can absorb on the gel and lead to falsely decreased concentrations.

Clinical Reference
Recommendations for in-depth reading of a clinical nature

1. NEMBUTAL Sodium Solution (pentobarbital sodium injection). Package insert: Ovation Pharmaceuticals Inc; October 2007

2. Langman LJ, Bechtel LK, Holstege CP. Clinical toxicology. In: Rifai N, Chiu RWK, Young I, Burnham C-AD, Wittwer CT, eds. Tietz Textbook of Laboratory Medicine. 7th ed. Elsevier; 2023:454-454.e484

3. Baselt RC. Disposition of toxic drugs and chemical in man. 12th ed. Biomedical Publications; 2020

4. Milone MC, Shaw LM. Therapeutic drugs and their management. In: Rifai N, Chiu RWK, Young I, Burnham C-AD, Wittwer CT, eds. Tietz Textbook of Laboratory Medicine. 7th ed. Elsevier; 2023:420-453

5. Mihic SJ, Mayfield J. Hypnotics and sedatives. In: Brunton LL, Knollmann BC, eds. Goodman and Gilman's: The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. 14th ed. McGraw-Hill Education; 2023

Method Description
Describes how the test is performed and provides a method-specific reference

Barbiturates are extracted from serum using solid-phase extraction techniques. The serum is buffered and eluted with organic solvent. The organic phase is dried, reconstituted, and analysis performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using selected ion monitoring. The assay utilizes deuterated barbiturates as internal standards.(Unpublished Mayo method)

PDF Report
Indicates whether the report includes an additional document with charts, images or other enriched information

No

Day(s) Performed
Outlines the days the test is performed. This field reflects the day that the sample must be in the testing laboratory to begin the testing process and includes any specimen preparation and processing time before the test is performed. Some tests are listed as continuously performed, which means that assays are performed multiple times during the day.

Thursday

Report Available
The interval of time (receipt of sample at Mayo Clinic Laboratories to results available) taking into account standard setup days and weekends. The first day is the time that it typically takes for a result to be available. The last day is the time it might take, accounting for any necessary repeated testing.

3 to 9 days

Specimen Retention Time
Outlines the length of time after testing that a specimen is kept in the laboratory before it is discarded

14 days

Performing Laboratory Location
Indicates the location of the laboratory that performs the test

Rochester

Fees :
Several factors determine the fee charged to perform a test. Contact your U.S. or International Regional Manager for information about establishing a fee schedule or to learn more about resources to optimize test selection.

  • Authorized users can sign in to Test Prices for detailed fee information.
  • Clients without access to Test Prices can contact Customer Service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • Prospective clients should contact their account representative. For assistance, contact Customer Service.

Test Classification
Provides information regarding the medical device classification for laboratory test kits and reagents. Tests may be classified as cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and used per manufacturer instructions, or as products that do not undergo full FDA review and approval, and are then labeled as an Analyte Specific Reagent (ASR) product.

This test was developed and its performance characteristics determined by Mayo Clinic in a manner consistent with CLIA requirements. It has not been cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

CPT Code Information
Provides guidance in determining the appropriate Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code(s) information for each test or profile. The listed CPT codes reflect Mayo Clinic Laboratories interpretation of CPT coding requirements. It is the responsibility of each laboratory to determine correct CPT codes to use for billing.

CPT codes are provided by the performing laboratory.

80299

LOINC® Information
Provides guidance in determining the Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) values for the order and results codes of this test. LOINC values are provided by the performing laboratory.

Test Id Test Order Name Order LOINC Value
PENTS Pentobarbital, S 3924-8
Result Id Test Result Name Result LOINC Value
Applies only to results expressed in units of measure originally reported by the performing laboratory. These values do not apply to results that are converted to other units of measure.
8239 Pentobarbital, S 3924-8

Test Setup Resources

Setup Files
Test setup information contains test file definition details to support order and result interfacing between Mayo Clinic Laboratories and your Laboratory Information System.

Excel | Pdf

Sample Reports
Normal and Abnormal sample reports are provided as references for report appearance.

Normal Reports | Abnormal Reports

SI Sample Reports
International System (SI) of Unit reports are provided for a limited number of tests. These reports are intended for international account use and are only available through MayoLINK accounts that have been defined to receive them.

SI Normal Reports | SI Abnormal Reports