ABSTRACT

Propofol is a potent anaesthetic drug and also an effective sedative agent. Also, propofol may be used for non-anaesthetic purposes such as the treatment of seizures, migraine and tension headache in clinical practice. It has been abused, particularly among healthcare providers with high mortality rate. This report presents the case of a propofol-dependent patient who was an emergency medicine doctor with no difficulties in obtaining the drug. He himself visited our clinic for the treatment of propofol dependence. We started the patient’s treatment with pharmacotherapeutic medicines and individual psychotherapy. Fourteen days after starting the therapy, the patient was discharged from hospital on his own will and he did not attend the follow-up visits in the outpatient clinic. Then, we were informed of his death, which was suspected to have occurred owing to drug intoxication in the hospital in which he worked. Nevertheless, the reason of death was important; the importance of this case report is to provide information regarding the drug’s dependence profile. This is the first case report indicating propofol dependence in Turkey. Because of its easy access, rapid onset time and short duration of action, propofol dependence is increasing. We think that adding propofol to the controlled drug list and improving the knowledge of the clinicians regarding its abuse potential may limit the dependence cases.

Keywords: Propofol, dependence, euphoria, abuse