Propofol

Propofol is the active component of an intravenous <a href="/facts/Anesthetic/0xG7I2ou">anesthetic</a> formulation used for induction and maintenance of <a href="/facts/General_anesthesia/bv3Yzcz7">general anesthesia</a>. It is chemically termed 2,6-diisopropylphenol. The formulation was approved under the brand name Diprivan. Numerous generic versions have since been released. <a href="/facts/Intravenous_therapy/AwwuD3Nu">Intravenous</a> administration is used to induce <a href="/facts/Unconsciousness/SS240v32">unconsciousness</a> after which anesthesia may be maintained using a combination of medications. It is manufactured as part of a sterile injectable <a href="/facts/Emulsion/YMSqSCuH">emulsion</a> formulation using soybean oil and <a href="/facts/Lecithin/RNfeGIJ2">lecithin</a>, giving it a white milky coloration.
Recovery from propofol-induced anesthesia is generally rapid and associated with less frequent side effects (e.g., drowsiness, nausea, vomiting) compared to other anesthetic agents. Propofol may be used prior to <a href="/facts/Diagnostic_procedures/VcsPwshd">diagnostic procedures</a> requiring anesthesia, in the management of refractory <a href="/facts/Status_epilepticus/2mk2Bxv3">status epilepticus</a>, and for induction or maintenance of anesthesia prior to and during <a href="/facts/Surgeries/fG8tWf5Y">surgeries</a>. It may be administered as a <a href="/facts/Bolus_(medicine)/R1HoCrB8">bolus</a> or an <a href="/facts/Infusion_therapy/0Pf6NzlS">infusion</a>, or some combination of the two.
First synthesized in 1973, by <a href="/facts/John_B._Glen/CTKHNK7V">John B. Glen</a>, a British veterinary <a href="/facts/Anesthesiologist/hyfr9hRt">anesthesiologist</a> working for <a href="/facts/Imperial_Chemical_Industries/XECoopCt">Imperial Chemical Industries</a> (ICI, later <a href="/facts/AstraZeneca/KTPcnWfE">AstraZeneca</a>), in 1986 propofol was introduced for therapeutic use as a lipid emulsion in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Propofol (Diprivan) received <a href="/facts/FDA_approval/rCEnh9WB">FDA approval</a> in October 1989. It is on the <a href="/facts/WHO_Model_List_of_Essential_Medicines/6kmu81Xm">World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines</a>.

Propofol open-in-new

Propofol