Skip to main content
Log in

Patient experience of sexual hallucinations after propofol-induced painless abortion may lead to violence against medical personnel

  • Clinical Report
  • Published:
Journal of Anesthesia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Painless abortion is an outpatient surgical procedure performed under general anesthesia, which requires an appropriate anesthetic reagent that must be safe, comfortable for the patient, and highly controllable. At present, fentanyl and propofol are first-choice anesthetic reagents in clinical applications. However, both have various side effects, including the inhibition of respiration and circulation and the occurrence of postoperative sexual fantasies and amorous behavior. In this report, we will demonstrate three cases of allegations of assault and violence caused by sexual hallucinations in patients who were anesthetized with propofol and fentanyl during painless abortion surgery.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Larsen B, Seitz A, Larsen R. Recovery of cognitive function after remifentanil-propofol anesthesia: a comparison with desflurane and sevoflurane anesthesia. Anesth Analg. 2000;90(1):168–74.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Toscano A, Pancaro C, Peduto VA. Scopolamine prevents dreams during general anesthesia. Anesthesiology. 2007;106(5):952–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Young PN. Hallucination after propofol. Anaesthesia. 1988;43:170–1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Brandner B, Blagrove M, McCallum G, Bromley LM. Dreams, images and emotions associated with propofol anaesthesia. Anaesthesia. 1997;52(8):750–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Leslie K, Myles PS, Forbes A, Chan MT, Swallow SK, Short TG. Dreaming during anaesthesia in patients at high risk of awareness. Anaesthesia. 2005;60:239–44.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Stickgold R, Hobson JA, Fosse R, Fosse M. Sleep, learning, and dreams: off-line memory reprocessing. Science. 2001;294:1052–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Schacter DL. Memory: from the laboratory to everyday life. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2013;15(4):393–5.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Schacter DL. Memory and awareness. Science. 1998;280(5360):59–60.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Cork RC. Awareness under anesthesia. J Perianesth Nurs. 2006;21(4):288–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Cork RC, Heaton JF, Campbell CE, Kihlstrom JF. Is there implicit memory after propofol sedation? Br J Anaesth. 1996;76(4):492–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Leslie K, Skrzypek H, Paech MJ, Kurowski I, Whybrow T. Dreaming during anesthesia and anesthetic depth in elective surgery patients: a prospective cohort study. Anesthesiology. 2007;106:33–42.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Wu D, Wang Y, Lam KF, Hesketh T. Health system reforms, violence against doctors and job satisfaction in the medical profession: a cross-sectional survey in Zhejiang Province, eastern China. BMJ Open. 2014;4. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014006431.

  13. Hellwagner K, Holzer A, Gustorff B, Schroegendorfer K, Greher M, Weindlmayr-Goettel M, Saletu B, Lackner FX. Recollection of dreams after short general anaesthesia: influence on patient anxiety and satisfaction. Eur J Anaesthesiol.2003;20:282-8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bin Yi.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yang, Z., Yi, B. Patient experience of sexual hallucinations after propofol-induced painless abortion may lead to violence against medical personnel. J Anesth 30, 486–488 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00540-016-2152-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00540-016-2152-y

Keywords

Navigation