The addition of intravenous caffeine during an amobarbital interview

Although the amobarbital interview is an effective means of temporarily relieving catatonic mutism, some catatonic patients simply fall asleep during an amobarbital interview. We are examining the feasibility of administering intravenous caffeine benzoate during an amobarbital interview to prevent patients from falling asleep. This paper describes an open trial of the administration of 500 mg caffeine benzoate during amobarbital interviews with ten patients. The procedure was well tolerated, but further studies are needed to determine whether or not caffeine is an advantage over amobarbital alone.