Potentiation by Phenobarbitone of Effects of Ethyl Alcohol on Human Behaviour

There is very little experimental evidence about the combined effects of alcohol and phenobarbitone, administered at or about the same time. Similarities in their actions suggest that the effects of the drugs are likely at least to summate in some respects (for example, in depressing the respiratory centre); and there are experimental and forensic observations which suggest that death has sometimes occurred after a dose of ethanol and phenobarbitone, neither of which would have been fatal by itself (Jetter and Maclean, 1943; Fisher, Walker and Plummer, 1948). Phenobarbitone and other barbiturates are widely prescribed (Dunlop, Henderson and Inch, 1952), usually without reference to the habitual alcohol consumption of the patient, and potentiation as well as summation has been reported to occur between some barbiturates and alcohol (Rachek, 1944; Sandberg, 1950).