Effect of phenobarbital on cerebral blood flow in the newborn piglet under stress

Heart rate, cardiac output, mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), and cerebral blood flow (CBF) were measured in 12 newborn piglets (6 controls and 6 pretreated with 20 mg/kg phenobarbital), under two different stresses: pain stimulation and intravenous injection of 2.5 mg/kg phenylephrine. Phenobarbital prevented pain-induced tachycardia (p < 0.05 versus controls) but failed to prevent hemodynamic changes induced by phenylephrine. CBF remained relatively constant throughout the study. A better correlation between cerebral vascular resistance and MABP was noted in the phenobarbital group (r = 0.58, p < 0.01) than in the controls (r = 0.15, p = NS), suggesting that phenobarbital potentiates the vasoconstrictor effect of catecholamines.