On June 15, the FDA issued an alert for Propofol, also known as Diprivan. There have been several clusters of patients that have experienced fever, chills, and body aches shortly after receiving the drug for sedation. These symptoms persisted for many hours after the Propofol was administered. Several of the patients had to be hospitalized for their symptoms.
The FDA has tested many of the vials and syringes that were used on patients with these symptoms and none of the tests showed any evidence of being contaminated with bacteria or endotoxins.
The FDA is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) to find out the reasons for these patients symptoms. The FDA recommends that any healthcare professional who administers Diprivan should follow all the Package Insert Guidelines very carefully when handling this drug because it is associated with bacterial growth. To minimize risk the drug should only be used within 6 hours of opening the vial.
Any patient who experiences these “flu-like” symptoms after receiving Propofol should be checked for bacterial sepsis.