In the movies or on television, when a doctor or a nurse needs to subdue a raving, hysterical patient, they inject a strong sedative, to which the patient succumbs mere seconds later. How accurate is this depiction? Does the drug travel from the arm to the brain that quickly? –Stephen A., Manhattan
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Response time to a sedative injection varies widely depending on drug, dose, patient size, drug tolerance, route of administration, and so on. Any anesthesiologist will tell you that while some people take a long time to knock out, others drop off pretty fast. Blood cells make a complete circuit of the body in maybe 30 seconds; under optimal conditions–let’s say you can inject via a previously inserted subclavian IV line–some people might fade in two to five seconds with a fast-acting drug such as methohexital. However, optimal conditions seldom prevail in Hollywood depictions. The party is usually flailing; the medic doesn’t bother hunting for a vein but rather jabs wherever it’s convenient. Intramuscular injections take effect relatively slowly–three to fifteen minutes or longer is typical. Directors don’t have that kind of time, so the subject goes limp immediately. Dramatic? Yes. Realistic? No.
Lance: OK, you’re giving her an injection of adrenaline straight to her heart. But she’s got breastplates. You’ve gotta pierce through that. So what you gotta do is, you gotta bring the needle down in a stabbing motion. [Makes multiple stabbing motions]
Vincent does as instructed. Mia immediately sits bolt upright, eyes wide open and apparently fully recovered.
