Propofol in patients susceptible to malignant hyperthermia: a case report and review of the literature.

Propofol is an intravenous (IV) drug recently introduced into the United States for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. In spite of extensive laboratory evaluation, it is not possible to predict all the potential side effects that might be associated with a new drug. Because malignant hyperthermia (MH) remains a serious and potentially life-threatening complication of anesthesia, all new anesthetic drugs should be considered potential triggering drugs until proven otherwise. We report the use of IV propofol for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia in an MH patient and review the literature on this subject.