Is propofol injection pain really important to patients?

Abstract

BackgroundPropofol injection pain (PIP) has been adequately studied during the past decades. However, patients’ opinion on this problem and the incidence of patients’ recall of this brief discomfort are still unknown. Thus, we conducted this study to know the patients’ perspectives on PIP and provide useful information about the incidence of recall of PIP under our routine general anesthesia.MethodsFive hundred preoperative questionnaires were distributed to patients who were scheduled for elective open thyroidectomy under general anesthesia from May 2016 to July 2016. They were asked to rank ten possible adverse effects associated with general anesthesia from their most undesirable to their least undesirable effect. Patients who completed the preoperative questionnaires were asked whether they could recall PIP and to grade the severity of PIP on the first postoperative day.ResultsA total of 448 preoperative questionnaires were returned and analyzed with an efficient rate of 89.6%. Incisional pain was ranked as most undesirable, followed (in order) by vomiting, gagging on the tracheal tube, nausea, sore throat, propofol injection pain, shivering, intravenous puncture pain, and anxiety. The majority (91.5%) of surveyed patients could not recall any discomfort or pain during anesthetics injection. Of those who could recall PIP, 89.5% grade it as mild pain, 7.9% moderate pain, and 2.6% severe pain.ConclusionsMost of patients undergoing elective open thyroidectomy in our hospital viewed PIP as a relatively minor problem. The incidence of recall of PIP was low and the majority of those who recalled regarded it as mild, temporary and acceptable pain. However, further investigations into propofol injection pain may be warranted as patients’ perspectives on propofol injection pain and its severity may differ between patient populations.

Impact of the Timing of Rocuronium Injection after Propofol Administration on Temporal Summation of Pain in Gynecologic Laparoscopic Surgery: A Prospective and Controlled Study

“…This may have been an effect of electromyographic activity on the calculation of BIS [ 15 ]. This study showed that the incidence and severity of pain and the frequency of recall after propofol injection were similar to those reported in previous studies [ 16 , 17 ]. Pain after propofol injection was mild, and the frequency of recall was low.…”

Effect of Preemptive Intravenous Ibuprofen on propofol Injection Pain

“…Though propofol injection pain is not known to be a lifethreatening complication of anesthesia, it is defined as an unpleasant situation for patients related to anesthesia [3]. According to research, the incidence risk of propofol injection pain varies from 28-90% for adults [2].…”

“…According to research, the incidence risk of propofol injection pain varies from 28-90% for adults [2]. Propofol injection pain is a research area that has attracted the interest of many researchers and when the literature is examined, in 2011, 177 clinical studies including over 25,000 cases appear to be related to propofol injection pain [3]. Methods and medications applied to prevent propofol injection pain have been investigated from aspects such as causing increasing labor in the intense operating room process and financial resources.…”

“…Methods and medications applied to prevent propofol injection pain have been investigated from aspects such as causing increasing labor in the intense operating room process and financial resources. However, currently research into the topic shows propofol injection pain as a complication of anesthesia, albeit one with low morbidity, and research into the topic continues to be on the agenda [3,12,13]. Propofol irritates skin and mucous membranes as all phenols do.…”

“…According to research, the risk of incidence for propofol injection pain varies between 28-90% for adults [2]. Though injection pain is not a life-threatening complication of anesthesia, it remains an unpleasant situation associated with anesthesia in the minds of patients [3]. Methods such as the use of small doses of medications like iv lidocaine, ketamine, opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) before propofol injection and diluting the propofol solution have been tried and used to prevent injection pain [4,5].…”