Propofol Misuse in Medical Professions: a Scoping Review

Overview

Journal Can J Anaesth

Specialty Anesthesiology

Date 2022 Dec 28

PMID 36577890

Authors

Garrett W Burnett

Amir Taree

Lily Martin

Ethan O Bryson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: We aimed to describe the current literature concerning propofol misuse in medical professionals, specifically relating to the individual demographics of those misusing propofol and the outcomes of propofol misuse.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective scoping review of the literature using a modified PRISMA approach. We used MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases to identify relevant studies based on search terms. Studies describing individual medical professionals misusing propofol were included.

Results: Twenty-four articles describing 88 individual cases of propofol misuse were included for data charting and analysis. Anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists were most commonly identified. Death was a common method of identification of misuse, while rehabilitation and death were common final outcomes associated with propofol misuse.

Conclusions: Despite knowledge of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of propofol by those misusing this medication, death was a common outcome reported in the literature. Data related to long-term outcomes including re-entry to clinical practice or success of rehabilitation were limited.

Citing Articles

Molecular Precision Medicine: Application of Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling to Predict Drug-Drug Interactions Between Lidocaine and Rocuronium/Propofol/Paracetamol.

Silva A, Mourao J, Vale N Int J Mol Sci. 2025; 26(4).

PMID: 40003969 PMC: 11855824. DOI: 10.3390/ijms26041506.

Quantitation of propofol metabolites by LC-MS/MS demonstrating long detection window for urine drug monitoring.

Rosano T, Wood M, Scholz K, Whitely K, Kim N, Ehlers M J Mass Spectrom Adv Clin Lab. 2024; 32:60-67.

PMID: 38708432 PMC: 11067484. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmsacl.2024.04.001.

Effect of propofol and ciprofol on the euphoric reaction in patients with painless gastroscopy: A prospective randomized controlled trial.

Li T, Zhang J, Liu Z, Lu Y, Gong C, Han D Heliyon. 2024; 10(9):e30378.

PMID: 38707441 PMC: 11068811. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30378.

Like patients, practitioners are not cases: (re)humanizing the "case" report.

Lorello G, Hawryluck L Can J Anaesth. 2023; 70(6):1113-1114.

PMID: 37165133 PMC: 10171904. DOI: 10.1007/s12630-023-02471-w.

In reply: Like patients, practitioners are not cases: (re)humanizing the "case" report.

Burnett G, Taree A, Martin L, Bryson E Can J Anaesth. 2023; 70(6):1115.

PMID: 37165132 DOI: 10.1007/s12630-023-02472-9.

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