Concentrations of propofol in maternal and fetal blood during anesthesia for cesarean section

Abstract The authors studied, until the delivery, the pharmacokinetics of propofol during cesarean section. Ten patients were studied. Anaesthesia was induced and maintained with propofol (2 mg/kg in 15 seconds; 3 mg/kg/h until the end of the operation). All the patients have been intubated after the administration of atracurium 0.4 mg/kg and artificially ventilated with O2/N2O (FiO2 0.4). A series of maternal blood samples was obtained. Umbilical artery and venous blood samples have been obtained at delivery. Propofol levels in whole blood samples have been measured by a HPLC method (High pressure liquid chromatography). The results were: at delivery the mean ratio of the drug concentration in the umbilical vein to that in maternal vein was 0.53 +/- 0.16 micrograms/ml; the mean concentration in the umbilical vein was 0.96 +/- 0.31 micrograms/ml. The anaesthesiological protocol was clinically satisfactory and had no adverse effects on mother and foetus.