British Journal of Anaesthesia 1996; 76: 570–572

CASE REPORTS

Unilateral convulsion after induction of anaesthesia with propofol
D. COCHRAN, W. PRICE AND C. L. GWINNUTT

Summary
We report a case in which a 42-yr-old man suffered
a unilateral convulsion immediately after i.v. injection of propofol, and was discovered subsequently to have an old contralateral cerebral infarct.
This complication and the current information on
the relationship between propofol and abnormal
neurological activity are discussed. (Br. J. Anaesth.
1996; 76: 570–572)
Key words
Anaesthetics i.v., propofol. Complications, spontaneous excitatory movement.

Since its introduction, propofol has been linked with
both pro- and anticonvulsant activity. We describe a
case in which a convulsion, limited to the left side of
the body, occurred immediately after administration
of propofol in a patient who was subsequently shown
to have an undiagnosed cerebral infarct. We could
not find a previous report of this type of abnormal
neurological activity after propofol.

Case report
A 42-yr-old man presented for surgical correction of
a Dupuytren’s contracture of his right hand during
general anaesthesia. The preoperative anaesthetic
assessment was unremarkable and he declined any
premedication. On arrival in the anaesthetic room,
monitoring by pulse oximetry and ECG was commenced, and an i.v. cannula was inserted, after
which his lungs were preoxygenated via a Bain coaxial system for approximately 2 min. Anaesthesia
was induced with propofol 200 mg. As the injection
finished the patient developed irregular jerking
movements on his left arm and leg which gradually
became more violent and similar to the clonic phase
of a grand mal convulsion. This lasted approximately
1 min and resolved spontaneously. Ventilation was
unaffected, oxygen was administered continuously
and peripheral oxygen saturation remained greater
than 95 % throughout. As the episode was brief and
resolved spontaneously, it was decided to continue,
and anaesthesia was maintained with isoflurane and
65 % nitrous oxide in oxygen. An axillary block of
the left arm was performed using 0.25 % bupivacaine
40 ml without adrenaline for postoperative pain
relief. During operation he received fentanyl 100 ␮g
when a skin graft was taken from his thigh. There
were no further episodes of seizure activity during
anaesthesia or recovery.

Because of the unilateral nature of the seizure, a
CT scan was performed after operation. This
revealed a wedge-shaped, low-density area in the
right posterior parietal lobe, consistent with an
infarct in the vascular watershed between the
territories of the middle and posterior cerebral
arteries (fig. 1). On direct questioning, the patient
revealed that he had suffered from meningitis at
16 yr of age which had left him with a mild bilateral
hearing loss and a slight weakness in his left leg,
which had recently resulted in him having to give up
playing football. A more detailed neurological examination after these results showed some slight muscle
wasting in the left lower leg and an up-going plantar
on the left. He suffered no further seizures in
hospital and was discharged home.

Discussion
Since 1987 there have been a variety of reports
linking propofol with the occurrence of abnormal
neurological sequelae, ranging from minor involuntary movements to opisthotonos and grand mal
convulsions, both in previously healthy patients and
those known to suffer from epilepsy. Excitatory
events have been reported on induction of anaesthesia with propofol [1], but appear to be more
common during recovery [2–7], in two patients after
intervals of 21 h and 5 days between administration
of propofol and the convulsions [7, 8]. Although
most cases describe single convulsions, status epilepticus and repeated attacks of opisthotonos for 23
days have been reported after anaesthesia, of which
propofol was a component [4, 9].
A criticism of these reports is that on many
occasions combinations of drugs were administered,
making the implication of propofol impossible, as
many of the commonly used anaesthetic agents have
been reported as being capable of causing clinically
evident seizure activity [10]. Propofol has been
administered uneventfully to a patient on two
occasions but associated with a grand mal convulsion
when given with alfentanil on a third occasion [11].
However, in the case reported by Shearer of grand
mal convulsions lasting for 3 h, propofol was clearly
implicated as it was the only agent administered [12].
The abnormal movements reported after propofol
have been labelled as seizures, grand mal convulsions
D. COCHRAN, MB, CHB, W. PRICE, MB, BS, C. L. GWINNUTT, MB,
BS, FRCA, Department of Anaesthesia, Salford Royal Hospitals
NHS Trust, Hope Hospital, Stott Lane, Salford M6 8HD.
Accepted for publication: December 12, 1995.
Correspondence to C. L. G.

Unilateral convulsion after propofol anaesthesia

Figure 1 Axial CT scan showing an area of low density in the
right posterior parietal lobe.

and status epilepticus, all of which imply an epileptic
aetiology. Electroencephalographic (EEG) evidence
to support such claims is variable; in cases where the
EEG has been monitored during administration of
propofol, evidence of epileptiform activity has not
been accompanied by motor manifestations [13, 14],
while EEG recordings after the events have been
reported as normal [5, 12]. By late 1992, the
Committee of Safety of Medicines had received 170
reports describing convulsions after the use of
propofol with only a small minority of patients
(14 %) receiving anticonvulsants or with a past
history of epilepsy. The convulsions occurred soon
after administration of propofol in 69 % of all
patients and after a delay ranging from 1 h to 6 days
in the remainder [15].
Despite the claims that propofol may have proconvulsant activity, there is a significant amount of
evidence to the contrary. Propofol infusions have
been shown to be effective controlling status epilepticus assessed neurophysiologically when standard treatments have failed [16–19] and are capable
of inducing burst suppression in both adults and
children during cardiopulmonary bypass [20, 21]. In
patients undergoing surgery for intractable epilepsy,
EEG recording from chronically implanted electrodes revealed no increase in seizure activity, but
profound burst suppression after boluses of propofol
[22], and similarly, propofol infusion did not cause
increased seizure activity in patients with intractable
partial epilepsy [23]. Recently, Borgeat and
colleagues have shown that the excitatory movements
are not accompanied by EEG changes suggestive of
seizure activity [24]. Animal studies in mice [25] and
rabbits [26] demonstrated that propofol was effective
against both electrical and drug-induced seizures,
and when used to induce anaesthesia for electro-

571
convulsive therapy there was a significant shortening
of the duration of the seizure, as assessed clinically
[27–30].
A true seizure is an alteration in the CNS resulting
from an electrical discharge from neurones in either
cortical or subcortical tissues, evidence of which is
lacking in the majority of patients described as
having seizures after propofol. It has been suggested
that the explanation for the origin of the seizures and
opisthotonos is depression of inhibitory subcortical
structures in the CNS resulting in excitatory
dystonic movements and opisthotonos, characteristic
of midbrain and spinal excitatory activity, respectively [31]. Subcortical centres are thought to be
affected by lower concentrations of propofol for
longer periods than cortical ones, which are responsible for hypnosis, as demonstrated by the
observation that low doses of propofol have a direct
antiemetic action [32] and reduce pruritis associated
with extradural and intrathecal administration of
morphine [33]. This possibly explains the greater
incidence of excitatory events during the recovery
phase.
A similar mechanism can be invoked in patients
known to suffer from epilepsy. If a cortical focus is
inhibited normally by subcortical activity, administration of propofol may result in the “release” of
epileptic seizure activity in susceptible patients [34].
This is possibly the explanation for the events seen
in our patient. Cerebral infarcts are a well recognized
cause of seizure activity [35]. If this area was
inhibited normally by subcortical activity, the seizure may have occurred as a result of depression of the
inhibitory neurones before the full dose of propofol
had reached the central circulation. As plasma and
brain concentrations of propofol increased, the
seizure abated as a result of an anticonvulsant effect.
Interestingly, no convulsion was seen subsequently
as propofol concentrations decreased, but this may
have been masked by the concurrent use of other
anaesthetic agents.
It is possible that there are two groups of patients
who suffer a period of “seizure” activity after
administration of propofol. The majority exhibit the
motor manifestations of subcortical inhibition, without abnormal electrical discharge from any group of
neurones. In these patients, the terms convulsion,
seizure or epileptiform activity should be avoided, as
misinterpretation could lead to the patient being
labelled “epileptic” with all the attendant social and
economic consequences. Perhaps dystonic or myoclonic movement would be a more accurate and less
worrying description of the patient. The remainder
are a small group of epileptic patients in whom a true
seizure may be precipitated by administration of
propofol. However, it is well known that these
patients are also more susceptible to drug-induced
decerebrate rigidity [36] and therefore definitive
identification of the cause of such an event in a
known epileptic may not be clear-cut.
Therefore, it would seem sensible to avoid the use
of propofol in patients who are known to be at risk of
developing seizures and in those with epilepsy if their
control is poor, where anticonvulsant medication has
been omitted or if they are to be discharged early

572
after receiving propofol. However, as the present
case demonstrates, the former circumstances are not
always clear to either the patient or the anaesthetist,
despite preoperative assessment.

Acknowledgement
We thank Dr David Hughes, consultant radiologist, for his help
with arranging and reporting the CT scan.

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