Antiseizure Drug Could be Fatal( Common Sedative Linked to Deaths ...),Health

Common Sedative Linked to Deaths in Patients With Prolonged Seizures

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Patients treated for their prolonged seizures with the sedative propofol may be at high risk for complications and even death. New research presented at CHEST 2008, the 74th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), shows that the use of propofol as an antiepileptic agent in patients with refractory status epilepticus (RSE), prolonged seizures that do not respond to initial treatment, was associated with significant mortality and morbidity.

RSE is a difficult clinical problem seen in patients with primary epilepsy and in those with other conditions such as trauma, tumors, and infections affecting the brain. Although propofol is used to treat patients with RSE, it is more commonly used for sedation during surgeries or other patient procedures but at a much lower dose and shorter duration than that used for the control of seizures.

"Patients with RSE treated with propofol are at high risk for propofol-related side effects because of the high propofol infusion rates and prolonged treatment duration necessary in these patients," said Vivek Iyer, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. "However, it is well described that propofol toxicity can occur even with brief exposure to the drug."

Dr. Iyer and his colleagues from Mayo Clinic reviewed 39 consecutive patients (median age of 54 years) from 1997 to 2007, who were admitted to the ICU with RSE, in order to examine the link between propofol use and related side effects, including propofol infusion syndrome (PRIS). PRIS is a usually fatal complication of propofol use that has been reported especially at high infusion rates for prolonged periods. For this study, PRIS was defined by the unexplained presence of at least one or more of the following: metabolic acidosis, rhabdomyolysis, bradycardia, and/or cardiac arrest.

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