Surgery News: Diprivan Abuse Is A Growing Problem-Diprivan/Propofol
The problem is so severe that the May issue of Anesthesia News highlighted the problem, noting that 1 in 5 anesthesiology residency programs reported at least one case of abuse. What makes this type of drug abuse even more dangerous is the narrow therapeutic window, meaning that there is a very narrow margin between a dose that works and a dose that can kill.
Death from Diprivan abuse is not unheard of, it is believed that 40% of medical residents who abuse the drug die from an overdose.
Diprivan is a very short acting drug, meaning that the sedative effects don't last more than a few minutes. This short window means that abusers who obtain the drug will often inject themselves repeatedly, in some cases 50-100 times in the course of a drug using binge.
Researchers report that they studied 29 cases of diprivan abuse, 16 involved residents, 6 were fully credentialed physicians, and 3 nurse anesthetists. In the last five years, according to the article, 9 deaths have been reported amongst medical staff due to Diprivan abuse.
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Comments
Ty for explaining to me the difference between DO & MD;
Having surgery, and loved my Doctor who is double board certified and fellowship trained, as well as was Chief Resident, at one of the finest schools.
Do you know, nobody could answer that question for me without saying MD’s have more schooling, which is not true. You have made me much more comfortable with my choose.
Ty
Nancy
Clearly, this compounds the already burgeoning epidemic of prescription drug deaths, I am curious if toxicologists are routinely looking for this on post mortem screening.
Nancy, I’m glad to be of assistance!
MS: I actually found an article on that very topic and it seems that unless Propofol is suspected, it probably won’t be discovered. A military nurse was found unconscious with an empty bottle of Propofol nearby and they had quite a bit of difficulty proving that it wasn’t a coincidence.
So would this drug show up in the autopsy of Michael Jackson? The Medial Examiner may not have known to screen for the drug since it is rarely abused outside of the medical field.
Reports indicate that empty bottles of diprivan were found at the home, so I would imagine that it was added to the tox screen. Had there not been reports that MJ was asking for it, and evidence that it was present in the home, I doubt it would have been screened for. Most pharmacies wouldn’t even have this drug in stock.
I’m still a little confused. My knowledge of Diprivan is that it is an anesthetic for surgery. Thus, TOTAL sensory deprivation. Chief among them is the fact that one is rendered unconscious. How is it attractive for abuse if one is unconscious?
I understand abuse of depressant and stimulant narcotics for their euphoric effect, but what are addicts contending is the the attractiveness of Diprivan? Is there some other effect when used improperly?
To completely be away is the allure. Even when people get “high” you still have some awareness of your “pain”, even when sleeping you have dreams, nightmares. When you’re out, you leave everything completely.
My understanding is that in addition to being sedated or unconscious, depending upon the dose, there is also a feeling of euphoria.
Mike,
If diprivan/propofol is used improperly, one will experience crackles/rales in lungs, Hypotension,breathing become very difficult following by cardiac arrest, hands become numbed up to the point hands look as if club hands. Even though, the patient has a pulse, he/she become unconscious and have an exacerbation of arrhythmias (tachychardia first than bradycardia) the patient has edema from head to toe. cardiorespiratory arrest is likely to occur.
diprivan/propofol was wrongly administered in a person that I Know and out of the blue the person had all as mentionned above + emphyzema. the person never smoked. the person died of cardiorespiratory arrest.
This is a dangerous drug that need to be reviewed and recall-class I.