.Pharmacolibrary.Drugs.ATC.N.N03AA02

Information

Phenobarbital is a long-acting barbiturate that is used primarily as an anticonvulsant in the management of epilepsy. It is one of the oldest antiepileptic drugs, still in use for generalized and partial seizures, especially in low-resource settings. Phenobarbital acts by increasing GABAergic activity in the brain and is approved for use today, though it has largely been replaced by newer agents in high-income countries.

Pharmacokinetics

Pharmacokinetic parameters reported for adults with epilepsy after oral administration of phenobarbital.

References

1. Moffett, BS, et al., & Kayyal, SY (2018). Phenobarbital population pharmacokinetics across the pediatric age spectrum. Epilepsia 59(7) 1327–1333. DOI:10.1111/epi.14447 PUBMED:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29897629

2. Yukawa, M, et al., & Mimemoto, M (2011). Population pharmacokinetics of phenobarbital by mixed effect modelling using routine clinical pharmacokinetic data in Japanese neonates and infants: an update. Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics 36(6) 704–710. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2710.2010.01220.x PUBMED:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22023343

3. Cochrane, SM, et al., & Lumsden, JH (1990). Pharmacokinetics of phenobarbital in the cat following multiple oral administration. Canadian journal of veterinary research = Revue canadienne de recherche veterinaire 54(3) 309–312. PUBMED:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2143097

Revisions

• 06/2025 initial generated model