British Journal of Anaesthesia, Vol 75, Issue 3 334-338, Copyright © 1995 by The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia
H. Bohrer, H. Schmidt, E. Martin, R. Lux, K. Bolsen and G. Goerz
We evaluated the porphyrinogenicity of propofol in a rat model. After a
pilot study had been conducted to determine an optimal dose, 48 fasting
male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated randomly to six groups. The animals
in groups 1-3 received saline i.p. In groups 4-6, the animals were given
allylisopropylacetamide (AIA). Twelve hours later, animals in groups 1 and
4 received saline, groups 2 and 5 were given propofol 150 mg kg-1 i.p.,
followed by 75 mg kg-1 3 h later, and groups 3 and 6 received
phenobarbitone 50 mg kg-1 i.p. and 25 mg kg-1 i.p. The animals were
anaesthetized and killed 3 h after the second drug bolus and we measured
the concentration of cytochrome P450, total porphyrin content and the
activity of delta-aminolaevulinic acid synthase (ALAS) in the liver.
Urinary delta-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) and porphobilinogen (PBG)
concentrations were measured. Analysis of variance and the t test with
Bonferroni's correction were used to compare data. The hepatic cytochrome
P450 concentration in the non-primed groups varied from 28.1 to 31.1 nmol
g-1; administration of AIA decreased this to 20.1-20.9 nmol g-1. Total
hepatic porphyrins were between 0.78 and 1.22 nmol g-1 in the non-primed
groups and between 2.71 and 3.54 nmol g-1 in the AIA- primed groups.
Hepatic ALAS activity was 29.2 and 35.5 nmol h-1 g-1 in groups 1 and 2. In
the primed saline group, ALAS activity was measured at 134.5 nmol h-1 g-1.
There was a tendency towards an increase in activity in the primed propofol
group (169.7 nmol h-1 g-1) when this was compared with the primed saline
group. The highest values were obtained in the primed phenobarbitone group
(262.5 nmol h-1 g-1). Corresponding results were obtained for measurements
of urinary ALA and PBG. We conclude that propofol is a safe agent in the
porphyric patient when given as a single bolus dose. Caution may be
necessary, however, when large cumulative doses are administered.
LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS
Testing the porphyrinogenicity of propofol in a primed rat model
Department of Anaesthesia, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, D-69120 Heidelberg; Department of Dermatology, University of Dusseldorf, Postfach 101007, D-40001 Dusseldorf, Germany
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