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Intrathecal propofol has analgesic effects on inflammation-induced pain in rats

[Le propofol intrathécal a des effets analgésiques sur la douleur induite par l’inflammation chez les rats]

Tomoki Nishiyama, MD PhD^*, Takashi Matsukawa, MD PHD and Kazuo Hanaoka, MD PhD^*

^* From the Departments of Anesthesiology, The University of Tokyo, Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo; and
the Yamanashi University, Medical School, Yamanashi, Japan.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Tomoki Nishiyama, 3-2-6-603, Kawaguchi, Kawaguchi-shi, Saitama 332-0015, Japan. Phone: 81-3-5800-8668; Fax: 81-3-5800-9655; E-mail: nishit-tky{at}umin.ac.jp

Purpose: Propofol is thought to act on -aminobutyric acid receptors, which have some role in pain transmission in the spinal cord. In this study, we examined the effects of intrathecal propofol on acute thermally- or inflammation-induced pain in rats.

Methods: Lumbar intrathecal catheters were implanted in Male Sprague-Dawley rats. The tail withdrawal response to thermal stimulation (tail flick test) or paw flinching and shaking response by sc formalin injection into the hind paw (formalin test) were tested. Propofol 1000, 300 or 100 µg or saline (control) was administered as 10 µL intrathecally. Motor disturbance and behavioural side effects were also monitored in the rats during the tail flick test. Eight rats were used for each dose in each test.

Results: No analgesic effects were observed in the tail flick test. In the formalin test, 50% of effective doses were 449 µg (95% confidence interval, 80–3180 µg) in phase 1 and 275 µg (146–519 µg) in phase 2. Motor disturbance was observed in one rat with 100 µg and agitation and allodynia were seen in one rat with 300 µg. However, both were reversible in 120 min.

Conclusions: Intrathecal administration of propofol had analgesic effects on inflammation-induced acute and facilitated pain but not on thermally-induced acute pain. Transient motor and sensory disturbance could not rule out the possibility of neurotoxicity.

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