In vitro effects of propofol on blood coagulability and fibrinolysis by the use of thromboelastograph technique

BACKGROUND: To investigate the in vitro effects of propofol on blood coagulability and fibrinolysis by the use of thromboelastograph (TEG) technique. METHODS: The blood samples, obtained from 14 healthy volunteers, were divided into two groups: propofol (n = 7) and intralipid (n = 7), and 360 microliters volumes of whole blood were incubated with 2 microliters of 1% propofol and with its solvent intralipid, respectively. The incubated sample was then used for TEG measurements. RESULTS: The maximum amplitude (MA), which reflects coagulability, in the intralipid group significantly increased by about 7% and 16% compared to the control and propofol groups, respectively (P < 0.05), whereas the MA in the propofol group did not change. The fibrinolytic rate (FR) in the propofol group significantly increased by about 170% and 210% compared to the control and intralipid groups, respectively (P < 0.05), whereas the FR in the intralipid group did not change. CONCLUSIONS: Propofol, per se, has at the concentration of 55.6 micrograms.ml-1 an in vitro accelerative effect on blood fibrinolysis detected by TEG.