Abnormal posturing is an involuntary flexion or extension of the arms and legs, indicating severe brain injury. It occurs when one set of muscles becomes incapacitated while the opposing set is not, and an external stimulus such as pain causes the working set of muscles to contract. The posturing may also occur without a stimulus. Since posturing is an important indicator of the amount of damage that has occurred to the brain, it is used by medical professionals to measure the severity of a coma with the Glasgow Coma Scale (for adults) and the Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (for infants). The presence of abnormal posturing indicates a severe medical emergency requiring immediate medical attention. Decerebrate and decorticate posturing are strongly associated with poor outcome in a variety of conditions. For example, near-drowning patients that display decerebrate or decorticate posturing have worse outcomes than those that do not. Changes in the condition of the patient may cause alternation between different types of posturing. Types
Three types of abnormal posturing are decorticate posturing, with the arms flexed over the chest; decerebrate posturing, with the arms extended at the sides; and opisthotonus, in which the head and back are arched backward. Decorticate
Decorticate posturing is also called decorticate response, decorticate rigidity, flexor posturing, or, colloquially, "mummy baby". Patients with decorticate posturing present with the arms flexed, or bent inward on the chest, the hands are clenched into fists, and the legs extended and feet turned inward.
Butabarbital sodium can be used as a pre-surgical anesthetic aid or in the short-term treatment of sleep and anxiety disorders. For short term sleep maintenance and induction butabarbital sodium treatment is recommended to be limited to two weeks, after which it begins to lose efficacy. The half life is approximately 100hrs, eliminated primarily by hepatic microsomal enzymes and excreted in the urine. Overdose & abuse
Butabarbital sodium is a Schedule III controlled substance in the US and Canada due to risk of abuse and dependence. A psychoactive substance, butabarbital drugs are often abused with risk of acute intoxication and addiction. Barbiturates such as butabarbital are thought to be habit-forming and addictive, and have severe risks from withdrawal including death. Due to the high risk of dependence and overdose, use of butabarbital is highly regulated and has become less common in clinical application. Side effects
Those taking Butabarbital are asked to watch out for signs of severe allergic reaction, such as swelling or difficulty breathing. Less serious side effects include dizziness or drowsiness, excitation, headache, nausea, vomiting, or constipation. Psychiatric disturbances (hallucinations, agitation, confusion, depression, or memory problems), ataxia, difficulty breathing, or slow heartbeat could be signs of serious adverse effects and should be brought to the attention of a doctor immediately. Adverse effects
1-10%

Somnolence<1%

Contradictions
Those with a hypersensitivity to barbiturates or a history of porphyria should discuss with a doctor before using butisol sodium treatment.