Death from Propofol: Accident, Suicide, or Murder?

Abstract

A 24-yr-old woman was found dead in her home from apparent propofol "toxicity." Her blood level of propofol was 4.3 microg/mL. She had no history of drug abuse and no evidence of such behavior at autopsy. The medical examiner and police investigators felt that she died from probable homicide. Attention was focused on a male registered nurse acquaintance, who had acquired propofol and other drugs in the course of his regular duties in a surgical intensive care unit. This is the first reported case of murder with propofol.

Propofol use for sedation or sedation for propofol use?

“…However, although evidence [2][3][4][5] indicates that the majority of propofol abusers are medical professionals, its potential for abuse among the general public has recently been highlighted after the tragic death of popular culture icon Michael Jackson.…”

“…Propofol abuse is known to be related to psychological, rather than physical, dependency [1,2,4]. Propofol addicts crave sexual fantasy, brief respite from pain, or pleasant, relaxing, and euphoric feelings during recovery from propofol anesthesia or sedation [5,[8][9][10][11].…”

“…It may also lead to participation by many laypeople in illicit diversion of propofol in hospitals, or, worse, outside hospitals. When considering the extremely high rate of mortality in propofol addicts [2,5,12], stricter pharmacy control of propofol should be considered, including controlled-substance regulation by the government or other national medical agencies.…”

“…After the first warning about propofol abuse in a human in 1992 [1], a growing body of literature has documented abuse in humans [2][3][4][5] and abuse-like behavior in animal models [6,7]. Although the majority of cases of propofol abuse have involved healthcare providers, its recreational use among laypeople has also been documented [8][9][10].…”

Lebensbedrohliche Fentanyl- und Propofolabhängigkeit

“…Der vorliegende Fall unterstreicht jedoch erneut die Notwendigkeit, sich dem erhöhten bürokratischen Aufwand zu stellen, denn eine Abgabekontrolle führt zu einer Reduktion des Propofolmissbrauchs [52,55], zumal Propofol auch bei schweren Straftaten ("rape dating") vermutlich nicht nur in den USA Verwendung findet [27]. Aufgrund der oben beschriebenen Besonderheiten sollte jeder Verdacht auf einen Propofolmissbrauch als psychiatrischer Notfall eingestuft werden.…”