Aminophylline reversal of prolonged postoperative sedation induced by propofol.

Propofol is frequently used for intravenous sedation or anesthesia in ambulatory and office-based anesthesia. Although awakening is usually rapid, there are instances of delayed recovery from propofol anesthesia. It has been reported that aminophylline antagonizes the sedative effects of several anesthetic and analgesic drugs. The case reports presented here demonstrate that intravenous aminophylline effectively reversed prolonged propofol-induced sedation/anesthesia in the postoperative period. There were no side effects or delayed re-sedation after the administration of aminophylline. Our study suggests that aminophylline could be a clinically useful propofol antagonist.