Is pancreatitis a complication of propofol infusion ?

The effects of bolus and infusion doses of propofol on histopathological ch anges in the rat pancreas are reported. After obtaining Hospital Ethics Com mittee approval, 75 female Wistar rats were assigned to three study groups. Groups I (n=30) and II (n=30) received 10 mg kg(-1) intravenous bolus of p ropofol; with propofol administered to group II at an infusion rate of 10 m g kg(-1) h(-1) for 30 min immediately after the bolus doses. Group III (n=1 5) was used as the control group. Twenty-four hours after propofol administ ration blood samples and pancreatic tissue specimens were obtained under et her anaesthesia. Plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, amylase, and lipase leve ls were studied, and pancreatic tissues were examined under light microscop y. Plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly higher in group II compared with the other groups. Differences between the groups in respect of plasma amylase and lipase levels were not statistically signific ant. Acute pancreatitis was observed under light microscopy, in three rats (10%) in group II, and in one rat (6.6%) in the control group. The pancreat ic tissues of group I were normal. The incidence of acute pancreatitis in e ach of the groups was not significant. It is therefore suggested that, furt her controlled studies are needed to investigate the relation between pancr eatitis and the use of propofol.