The Oral Hypnotic Bioassay of Hydroxyzine and Pentobarbital for Nighttime Sedation

¹ Department of Anesthesia, Stanford University School of Medicine, and Veterans Administration Hospitals, Palo Alto and Los Angeles, Cal.

In a four-point biologic assay of a complete randomized block design, the hypnoitc effects of 50 mg and 150 mg hydroxyzine were compared with 60 mg and 180 mg of a standard drug, pentobarbital. The subjects were 58 males, selected from the medical and surgical wards of the Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital in Los Angeles, California. Effects were evaluated on the basis of patient's responses to four questions asked by specially trained nurse observers: " How well did you sleep?" (HWDYS), " How many minutes did it take you to fall asleep?" (MBS), " How long did you sleep?" (THS), and " How did your sleep compare with your usual night’s sleep at home?" (CWUNS). For three out of the four responses, HWDYS, MBS, and CWUNS, the two doses of hydroxyzine showed effects not different from each other and similar to the effects of the low dose of pentobarbital. For the effects on duration of sleep, 100 mg hydroxyzine was approximately equal to 100 mg pentobarbital. Sleepiness was the most common side effect for both drugs.

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