Infect Chemother.  2010 Oct;42(5):296-298. 10.3947/ic.2010.42.5.296.

A Case of Septic Shock Caused by Escherichia coli after Intravenous Injection of Contaminated Propofol

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Gyeonggi-do, Korea. ygkwak@paik.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.

Abstract

Propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol) is a rapid and short-acting anesthetic agent that is used for general anesthesia and endoscopic sedation. It is available as an aqueous lipid emulsion and this preparation could serve as a bacterial culture medium. We report a case of a 46-year-old female who developed septic shock caused by Escherichia coli after being sedated by propofol to undergo gastrointestinal endoscopy. The contaminated propofol was identified as the cause of septic shock by pulsed-gel electrophoresis.

Keyword

Propofol; Escherichia coli; Septic shock

MeSH Terms

Anesthesia, General
Electrophoresis
Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal
Escherichia
Escherichia coli
Female
Humans
Injections, Intravenous
Middle Aged
Propofol
Shock, Septic
Propofol

Figure

  • Figure 1 Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns of Escherichia coli isolates. Lane M, molecular weight standard; lane 1, propofol culture isolate, lane 2 blood culture isolate.


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