If the patient is awake, gastric lavage can be given if the oral barbiturate is poisoned; if the patient is unconscious, it is recommended that gastric lavage be given after endotracheal intubation to avoid aspiration, which may lead to respiratory obstruction, respiratory distress or aspiration pneumonia. Gastric lavage is usually performed with 1:4000 potassium permanganate solution, or isotonic saline can be used to remove the drug from the stomach. It is generally believed that gastric lavage is of little significance after 6 hours because the stomach has emptied within 6 hours, but barbiturates can inhibit gastrointestinal peristalsis and slow down gastric emptying, so the time of gastric lavage can be relatively extended, up to 12 hours. After gastric lavage, medicinal charcoal or laxatives can be given to minimize drug absorption.