Withdrawn from the market (safety)
Glutethimide
DORIDEN
What it isPiperidinedione sedative-hypnotic; withdrawn.
Why this oneIt was promoted as a safer barbiturate alternative.
What limits itIt was not — overdose was notoriously difficult to manage, with cyclical coma. US approval withdrawn in 1993.
Glutethimide prescription history
Animated chart of estimated U.S. prescriptions per year, Sleep meds (1869–2026). Glutethimide enters in 1955 (estimated).
FDA-approved for
- insomnia (US approval withdrawn 1993)
NO BOXED WARNINGS
Principal riskWithdrawn; a difficult and cyclical overdose
Classes and tags
Clinical profile
Defining liabilityDependence and prolonged overdose coma
Open Glutethimide in the interactive console ↗
Self-check
- What coma pattern complicated glutethimide overdose?
Cyclical coma. - When was US glutethimide approval withdrawn?
1993.