Pentobarbital versus thiopental in the treatment of refractory intracranial hypertension in patients with traumatic brain injury: a randomized controlled trial

Table 4 Adverse events during barbiturate coma

Adverse event	Thiopental (n = 22)	Pentobarbital (n = 22)	P
Hypotension^a	21	20	1
Respiratory infection^b	18	17	1
Urinary infection^c	0	2	0.49
Positive blood culture	4	1	0.34
ICP catheter colonization	7	5	0.5
CNS infection (CSF)^d	3	0	0.23
SOFA pre^e	7 (4.5 to 9.5)	8.0 (5.5 to 9.0)	0.57
SOFA maximum^f	11 (10 to 12)	11 (10 to 12)	0.94

^aHypotension is defined as detection of a medium arterial blood pressure below 80 mmHg at any time during barbiturate coma. ^bRespiratory infection: presence of a positive sputum culture. ^cUrinary infection: presence of a positive urine culture. ^dCentral nervous system infection (CNS) infection (cerebrospinal fluid [CSF]): infection of the CNS with a positive culture in the CSF. ^eSOFA pre: value of the Sepsis related Organ-Failure Assessment (SOFA) score before the beginning of the barbiturate coma. ^fSOFA maximum: maximum value of the SOFA during the barbiturate coma, according the indication by Moreno and coworkers [16].

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