The amobarbital interview revisited: a review of the literature since 1966

The amobarbital interview has been a diagnostic and therapeutic tool for almost 70 years. Because safer alternatives, namely benzodiazepines, have become available over the past 30 years, its clinical use merits reexamination. Toward this end, the psychiatric literature on the amobarbital interview is reviewed. A Medline search using the key words "amobarbital interview" generated papers published in English since 1966. Most of the literature demonstrating utility of the amobarbital interview consists of uncontrolled case series or case reports on a variety of clinical applications. One controlled study in patients with catatonia demonstrated clear superiority of amobarbital over placebo in promoting verbalization and alertness, but six other controlled studies using various doses in heterogeneous patient groups failed to find differences between this drug and placebo. Additional rigorous, controlled studies comparing amobarbital with placebo and with possible alternatives such as benzodiazepines in specific patient populations are needed to define the place of this agent in the psychiatric armamentarium.