Propofol

Propofol is an intravenous hypnotic anesthetic used widely for induction and short-term maintenance of general anesthesia. Its rapid onset and redistribution support controlled anesthetic transitions and brief procedures. Veterinary applications also include specialist suppression of refractory seizures. It is commonly used within balanced protocols containing separate analgesic and other anesthetic components.

Group

Intravenous anesthetic

Mechanism of Action

Propofol enhances inhibitory signaling at GABA-A receptor complexes and increases chloride conductance in responsive neurons. At anesthetic concentrations, its receptor effects produce widespread suppression of central neuronal activity, causing hypnosis and unconsciousness. Suppression of excessive neuronal firing also provides anticonvulsant activity. Rapid redistribution away from the brain contributes to the short effect after a single administration.

Dose Rates

Dogs

Use / stage	Dose	Route	Schedule	Instructions
Anesthetic induction	5.5–7.6 mg/kg	IV	Once	Reported label induction range, injected over 30-60 seconds.
Anesthetic induction	4 mg/kg	IV	Once	Common lower clinical induction dose.
Anesthetic induction	3 mg/kg	IV	Once	Premedicated dogs; reduce further as clinically indicated.
Incremental anesthetic supplementation	0.5–1 mg/kg	IV	As needed
Anesthetic maintenance bolus	1–3 mg/kg	IV	As needed
Anesthetic infusion — Loading	5–6 mg/kg	IV	Once
Anesthetic infusion — Maintenance	100–450 mcg/kg/min	IV	Continuous	Unpremedicated patients may require up to 600 mcg/kg/min; titrate with full anesthesia monitoring. Reported alternative mg/hour upper endpoint is not exactly equivalent.
Status epilepticus — Loading	1–6 mg/kg	IV	Once	To effect.
Status epilepticus — Maintenance	0.1–0.6 mg/kg/min	IV	Continuous
Anesthetic sedation infusion	0.1 mg/kg/min	IV	Continuous
Minor surgery infusion	0.6 mg/kg/min	IV	Continuous
Anesthetic maintenance infusion	0.4 mg/kg/min	IV	Continuous	Adjust to depth; inadequate depth may require 1 mg/kg IV bolus then 25% rate increase.
Refractory status epilepticus alternative — Loading	3–6 mg/kg	IV	Once
Refractory status epilepticus alternative — Maintenance	8–12 mg/kg/hour	IV	Continuous	Ventilatory support may be needed.
Premedicated induction with acepromazine and opioid	2.3 mg/kg	IV	Once
Unpremedicated induction alternative	6.6 mg/kg	IV	Once	Give over 60 seconds; transition promptly to inhalant.
Refractory seizure infusion	0.1–0.25 mg/kg/min	IV	Continuous	After titrated 1-3.5 mg/kg IV, up to 6 mg/kg if needed. Higher rate up to 0.6 mg/kg/min is described; initial course 6-12 hours then taper, maximum around 48 hours.
PropoFlo induction	5.5 mg/kg	IV	Once	No premedication; table mean, titrate over 40-60 seconds. Study premedication details must be retained in the anesthesia plan.
PropoFlo induction	3.7 mg/kg	IV	Once	Acepromazine; table mean, titrate over 30-50 seconds. Study premedication details must be retained in the anesthesia plan.
PropoFlo induction	2.6 mg/kg	IV	Once	Acepromazine plus oxymorphone; table mean, titrate over 30-50 seconds. Study premedication details must be retained in the anesthesia plan.
PropoFlo intermittent maintenance	2.2 mg/kg	IV	As needed	No premedication; give over 10-30 seconds to effect.
PropoFlo intermittent maintenance	1.6 mg/kg	IV	As needed	Acepromazine; give over 10-30 seconds to effect.
PropoFlo intermittent maintenance	1.8 mg/kg	IV	As needed	Acepromazine plus oxymorphone; give over 10-30 seconds to effect.

Cats

Use / stage	Dose	Route	Schedule	Instructions
Anesthetic induction	4–8 mg/kg	IV	Once	Administer slowly; approximately 6 mg/kg often suffices. Premedication reduces requirements.
Incremental anesthetic supplementation	1–3 mg/kg	IV	As needed
Anesthetic infusion	Reference only	IV		Reported gives 6 mg/kg IV loading then 200-300 mcg/kg/min but also labels this 0.2-0.3 mg/kg/hour. These are inconsistent by a factor of 60; clarify before calculator use.
Propofol-ketamine anesthesia	Reference only	IV		Propofol 0.025 mg/kg/min plus ketamine 23-46 mcg/kg/min; combined-agent protocol retained together.
Short-term surgery	10 mg/kg	IV	Once	Give over 1 minute; reported duration 10-20 minutes.
Anesthetic sedation infusion	0.1 mg/kg/min	IV	Continuous
Minor surgery infusion	0.6 mg/kg/min	IV	Continuous
Anesthetic maintenance infusion	0.4 mg/kg/min	IV	Continuous	Adjust to depth; inadequate depth may require 1 mg/kg IV bolus then 25% rate increase.
Refractory status epilepticus alternative — Loading	3–6 mg/kg	IV	Once
Refractory status epilepticus alternative — Maintenance	8–12 mg/kg/hour	IV	Continuous	Ventilatory support may be needed.

Horses

Use / stage	Dose	Route	Schedule	Instructions
Anesthetic induction	2 mg/kg	IV	Once	Premedicate with guaifenesin 90 mg/kg IV or another appropriate sedative; propofol alone causes excitement and myotonus.

Sheep

Use / stage	Dose	Route	Schedule	Instructions
Anesthetic induction	4 mg/kg	IV	Once

Goat

Use / stage	Dose	Route	Schedule	Instructions
Anesthetic induction	4 mg/kg	IV	Once

Pigs

Use / stage	Dose	Route	Schedule	Instructions
Anesthetic induction	2–5 mg/kg	IV	Once

Rabbits

Use / stage	Dose	Route	Schedule	Instructions
Anesthetic induction	5–14 mg/kg	IV	Once	Titrate slowly; not recommended as sole maintenance agent.

Mice

Use / stage	Dose	Route	Schedule	Instructions
Anesthetic induction	26 mg/kg	IV	Once

Rats

Use / stage	Dose	Route	Schedule	Instructions
Anesthetic induction	10 mg/kg	IV	Once

Reptiles

Use / stage	Dose	Route	Schedule	Instructions
Anesthetic induction	5–15 mg/kg	IV, IO	Once	Species-specific titration; intracardiac snake route not represented.

Indications

Intravenous induction of general anesthesia in dogs, cats and selected other veterinary species.
Maintenance of general anesthesia for selected procedures by intermittent administration or controlled infusion.
Deep sedation or anesthesia for selected diagnostic and minor surgical procedures.
Specialist treatment of refractory status epilepticus within an appropriate critical-care protocol.

Contraindications

Correct hypotension and provide oxygen/ventilatory support.
Do not use alone in horses; reproductive and very young canine safety are incompletely established.

Interactions

Premedication and other anesthetics lower propofol requirements.

Adverse effects

Apnea, respiratory depression, hypotension, involuntary movements and occasional injection pain; repeated exposure can cause feline oxidative erythrocyte injury.

Toxicity

Stop propofol for overdose-associated apnea or cardiovascular depression; maintain oxygenation, assisted ventilation and circulation.

Preparations

Preparation	Form	Strength	Route
Propofol emulsion 10 mg/mL	Injection	10 mg / mL	IV
PropoFlo propofol macroemulsion 10 mg/mL Unpreserved macroemulsion: discard after procedure or within 6 hours of opening, whichever is sooner. Do not substitute historical PropoClear microemulsion.	Injection	10 mg / mL	IV

Monitoring and Administration

Titrate slowly and wait for brain equilibration before repeating. Monitor ventilation, oxygenation, rhythm and pressure. Shake emulsion and use strict asepsis.

Unpreserved products: discard within 6 hours of opening. The benzyl-alcohol-preserved PropoFlo 28 formulation has a 28-day in-use period. Protect from light, do not freeze, and do not dilute below 2 mg/mL.

Premedicated dogs may need at least a 20-30% induction reduction; feline reductions of 16-24% are described, and midazolam may reduce feline requirements by up to 25%. Titrate to effect rather than applying reductions cumulatively.

With sustained feline infusions, minimize total dose/duration and monitor packed-cell volume/CBC for Heinz-body or hemolytic anemia. Rapid injection under 5 seconds increases apnea. Older PropoClear tables are formulation-specific and must not be applied to current macroemulsion products.

Embedded feline PropoClear tables concern the historical microemulsion: induction means 7.4 mg/kg without premedication, 6.2 after phenothiazine/opioid or benzodiazepine/opioid, 5.6 after alpha2 agonist; maintenance means 1.9, 2.3, 2.2 and 2.3 mg/kg respectively. These formulation-specific tables are retained only as historical context and are not interchangeable current macroemulsion instructions.

Discard separated propofol emulsion. For the unpreserved macroemulsion, discard at the end of the procedure or 6 hours after opening, whichever is sooner; preservative-containing formulations have different validated in-use periods.