A comparative study of intravenous and rectal administration of propofol in piglets

To compare the effectiveness of propofol given intravenously and rectally, ten piglets received propofol intravenously. On the next day, the same piglets and five other piglets were given suppositories containing propofol. Serial blood samples were collected for the analysis of propofol plasma concentration. The time course of the total plasma drug concentration was fitted into a bi-exponential function using a least square fitting regression computer programme. The volume of distribution was 2.5-2.8 l.kg-1, mean elimination half-life, 23.9 min and mean clearance 0.08 l.kg-1.min-1. The mean bioavailability by the rectal route was low. In contrast to the intravenously administered propofol, none of the piglets slept when given propofol rectally, reflecting the extremely low plasma propofol concentration. In veterinary medicine, propofol would seem to be clinically valuable for inducing intravenous anaesthesia, but would be ineffective when given rectally. The findings indicate that with the dosage forms used here, propofol would be clinically ineffective if given rectally to human infants and children.