Dancing with the White Rabbit: Handling the Diprivan Drug
Carly Turner
English 102
Polliard
May 5th, 2011
Dancing With The White Rabbit
People go under sedation all the time. They jump into the rabbit hole to receive colonoscopies, plastic surgery, dental work and other various medical procedures. Today’s world has become accustomed to regular use of sedation drugs however they do not realize just how dangerous they can be. There are many factors to be taken into account when someone is put under. Proprofol (Diprivan), a drug that is used to induce sedation, which is the cause of many medical malpractices and deaths, is not supervised enough in the medical community.
Propofol is one of the most widely used forms of anesthesia (Nytimes.com). It was invented 20 to 25 years ago (News Week). It has multiple benefits over general anesthesia. Unlike general anesthesia, propofol has rapid onsets. "If you try to count backward from 100 after it's injected, you don't get to 97,” says Dr. Wischmeyer, a University of Colorado Anesthesiologist (Wall Street Journal). It also allows patients to recover and return to baseline activities such as eating and breathing on their own faster. In addition, it can result in less nausea and vomiting in patients (Ismp.org). Because of this many practioners feel a false sense of security when using propofol. It can be harmful and even deadly if the person who is administering it is not trained in drugs that cause deep sedation and general anesthesia. On the labeling of Diprivan (Propofol), it is intended “for general anesthesia or monitored anesthesia care sedation”, meaning that that drug should only be administered by people trained in general anesthesia and not involved in the procedure being done.
Propofol is an exact science. Dosing needs to be based on the patient’s tolerance to the drug. A number of factors including the age, weight, and how hydrated the person is factors into the efficiency of the drug (News Week). The tolerance can vary and can change easily. Also, for a
English 102
Polliard
May 5th, 2011
Dancing With The White Rabbit
People go under sedation all the time. They jump into the rabbit hole to receive colonoscopies, plastic surgery, dental work and other various medical procedures. Today’s world has become accustomed to regular use of sedation drugs however they do not realize just how dangerous they can be. There are many factors to be taken into account when someone is put under. Proprofol (Diprivan), a drug that is used to induce sedation, which is the cause of many medical malpractices and deaths, is not supervised enough in the medical community.
Propofol is one of the most widely used forms of anesthesia (Nytimes.com). It was invented 20 to 25 years ago (News Week). It has multiple benefits over general anesthesia. Unlike general anesthesia, propofol has rapid onsets. "If you try to count backward from 100 after it's injected, you don't get to 97,” says Dr. Wischmeyer, a University of Colorado Anesthesiologist (Wall Street Journal). It also allows patients to recover and return to baseline activities such as eating and breathing on their own faster. In addition, it can result in less nausea and vomiting in patients (Ismp.org). Because of this many practioners feel a false sense of security when using propofol. It can be harmful and even deadly if the person who is administering it is not trained in drugs that cause deep sedation and general anesthesia. On the labeling of Diprivan (Propofol), it is intended “for general anesthesia or monitored anesthesia care sedation”, meaning that that drug should only be administered by people trained in general anesthesia and not involved in the procedure being done.
Propofol is an exact science. Dosing needs to be based on the patient’s tolerance to the drug. A number of factors including the age, weight, and how hydrated the person is factors into the efficiency of the drug (News Week). The tolerance can vary and can change easily. Also, for a