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Halothane
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Halothane
Halothane (Bromochlorotrifluoroethane), sold under the brand name Fluothane among others, is a halocarbon with the chemical formula CF3CHBrCl. It is used as a general anaesthetic given by inhalation. It can be used to induce or maintain anaesthesia. Its use in developed countries has been mostly replaced by newer anesthetic agents such as sevoflurane. One of its benefits is that it does not increase the production of saliva, which can be particularly useful in those who are difficult to intubate.
Side effects include an irregular heartbeat, respiratory depression, and hepatotoxicity. Like all volatile anesthetics, it should not be used in people with a personal or family history of malignant hyperthermia. It appears to be safe in porphyria. It is unclear whether its usage during pregnancy is harmful to the fetus, and its use during a C-section is generally discouraged. Halothane is a chiral molecule that is used as a racemic mixture.
Halothane was discovered in 1951. It was approved for medical use in the United States in 1958. It was removed from the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines in 2025. It is not available in the United States. Halothane may contribute to ozone depletion.
It is a potent anesthetic with a minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of 0.74%. Its blood/gas partition coefficient of 2.4 makes it an agent with moderate induction and recovery time. It is not a good analgesic and its muscle relaxation effect is moderate.
Halothane is colour-coded red on anaesthetic vaporisers.
Side effects include irregular heartbeat, respiratory depression, and hepatotoxicity. It appears to be safe in porphyria. It is unclear whether use during pregnancy is harmful to the baby, and it is not generally recommended for use during a C-section. In rare cases, repeated exposure to halothane in adults was noted to result in severe liver injury. This occurred in about one in 10,000 exposures. The resulting syndrome was referred to as halothane hepatitis, immunoallergic in origin, and is thought to result from the metabolism of halothane to trifluoroacetic acid via oxidative reactions in the liver. About 20% of inhaled halothane is metabolized by the liver and these products are excreted in the urine. The hepatitis syndrome had a mortality rate of 30% to 70%. Concern for hepatitis resulted in a dramatic reduction in the use of halothane for adults and it was replaced in the 1980s by enflurane and isoflurane. By 2005, the most common volatile anesthetics used were isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane. Since the risk of halothane hepatitis in children was substantially lower than in adults, halothane continued to be used in pediatrics in the 1990s as it was especially useful for inhalation induction of anesthesia. However, by 2000, sevoflurane, excellent for inhalation induction, had largely replaced the use of halothane in children.
Halothane sensitises the heart to catecholamines, so it is liable to cause cardiac arrhythmia, occasionally fatal, particularly if hypercapnia has been allowed to develop. This seems to be especially problematic in dental anesthesia.
Like all the potent inhalational anaesthetic agents, it is a potent trigger for malignant hyperthermia. Similarly, in common with the other potent inhalational agents, it relaxes uterine smooth muscle and this may increase blood loss during delivery or termination of pregnancy.
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Halothane
Halothane (Bromochlorotrifluoroethane), sold under the brand name Fluothane among others, is a halocarbon with the chemical formula CF3CHBrCl. It is used as a general anaesthetic given by inhalation. It can be used to induce or maintain anaesthesia. Its use in developed countries has been mostly replaced by newer anesthetic agents such as sevoflurane. One of its benefits is that it does not increase the production of saliva, which can be particularly useful in those who are difficult to intubate.
Side effects include an irregular heartbeat, respiratory depression, and hepatotoxicity. Like all volatile anesthetics, it should not be used in people with a personal or family history of malignant hyperthermia. It appears to be safe in porphyria. It is unclear whether its usage during pregnancy is harmful to the fetus, and its use during a C-section is generally discouraged. Halothane is a chiral molecule that is used as a racemic mixture.
Halothane was discovered in 1951. It was approved for medical use in the United States in 1958. It was removed from the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines in 2025. It is not available in the United States. Halothane may contribute to ozone depletion.
It is a potent anesthetic with a minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of 0.74%. Its blood/gas partition coefficient of 2.4 makes it an agent with moderate induction and recovery time. It is not a good analgesic and its muscle relaxation effect is moderate.
Halothane is colour-coded red on anaesthetic vaporisers.
Side effects include irregular heartbeat, respiratory depression, and hepatotoxicity. It appears to be safe in porphyria. It is unclear whether use during pregnancy is harmful to the baby, and it is not generally recommended for use during a C-section. In rare cases, repeated exposure to halothane in adults was noted to result in severe liver injury. This occurred in about one in 10,000 exposures. The resulting syndrome was referred to as halothane hepatitis, immunoallergic in origin, and is thought to result from the metabolism of halothane to trifluoroacetic acid via oxidative reactions in the liver. About 20% of inhaled halothane is metabolized by the liver and these products are excreted in the urine. The hepatitis syndrome had a mortality rate of 30% to 70%. Concern for hepatitis resulted in a dramatic reduction in the use of halothane for adults and it was replaced in the 1980s by enflurane and isoflurane. By 2005, the most common volatile anesthetics used were isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane. Since the risk of halothane hepatitis in children was substantially lower than in adults, halothane continued to be used in pediatrics in the 1990s as it was especially useful for inhalation induction of anesthesia. However, by 2000, sevoflurane, excellent for inhalation induction, had largely replaced the use of halothane in children.
Halothane sensitises the heart to catecholamines, so it is liable to cause cardiac arrhythmia, occasionally fatal, particularly if hypercapnia has been allowed to develop. This seems to be especially problematic in dental anesthesia.
Like all the potent inhalational anaesthetic agents, it is a potent trigger for malignant hyperthermia. Similarly, in common with the other potent inhalational agents, it relaxes uterine smooth muscle and this may increase blood loss during delivery or termination of pregnancy.
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