PROPOFOL ANALGESIA IN CENTRAL PAIN - PRELIMINARY CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS

Propofol, an intravenous general anaesthetic, has been reported to rel ieve some forms of pruritus at subhypnotic doses. We assessed its effe ctiveness in 32 patients with several kinds of non-malignant chronic p ain, in a placebo-controlled, double-blind study. We found that centra l pain, but not neuropathic pain, is at least partially controlled by propofol at subhypnotic doses, without major side-effects. In particul ar, allodynia associated with central, but no neuropathic, pain has be en completely controlled. Propofol analgesia leads to renormalization of brain metabolism as seen on single photon emission computed tomogra phy. We conclude that propofol may help in the diagnosis of central pa in, particularly in unclear cases, and also in treatment. Possible mec hanisms of action are discussed.