The Truth About Propofol: A Year After Jackson's Death

About a year ago, music legend, Michael Jackson, tragically lost his life due to using lethal levels of the drug, Propofol. Propofol is a short-acting, intravenously administered hypnotic agent. It is used for sedation for mechanically ventilated adults and for regular, procedural sedation. Propofol is also found in veterinary medicine.

While this drug has been approved for medical use in more than 50 countries, and is assumed safe when prescribed or administered by a licensed physician, the improper use of Propofol is increasingly responsible for ending the lives of many people each year.

As an emergency physician out of Houston, Texas, I have used Propofol for patients for the past six years to reduce dislocated shoulders, assist Oral Surgeons in removing teeth, and reduce fractures. I have also seen it used in the operating room.

After the death of Michael Jackson last year, many of his fans, media representatives and medical professionals blamed Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal doctor, for his death. They agreed that Murray knew the consequences of administering and allowing the administering of Propofol at dangerously high levels. While Dr. Rapp agrees that Murray was in part responsible for his overdose and death, she disagrees with those who suggest Jackson’s death to be fully his fault.

Dr. Rapp practices medicine on the platform, Safety for Success, which delegates to the public precautionary awareness, health tips, basic common medical knowledge, and the responsible use of both medical information and prescriptions. In her opinion, Jackson’s decision to continue using the prescribed drug above recommended levels was equally as harmful as Murray’s allowance of it.

Jackson’s death caused alarm throughout the United States and the world—but it proved to be even more influential to people prescribed the drug and physicians who administer and prescribe it. Rapp has noted precautions in using the drug—including the medical field’s recent attempts to phase out use because of its side affect of lowering blood pressure rapidly and significantly. While Rapp agrees it should be monitored, she simultaneously believes that Propofol is helpful in the medical field when used responsibly by patients, surgeons, medical doctors, and dentists.

Dr. Rapp’s expert advice provided by her medical experience has helped her develop guidelines and information under the following themes:
1) Pre-existing conditions
2) Post-existing affects
3) Use of Propofol in the Medical field (On-site administering)
4) Self-administering Propofol
5) Safety First (Precautionary)
6) Safety First (Emergency and Overdose)

We urge you to encourage your audience to be proactive about the potential aftermath of abusing Propofol, as well as other drugs that have the same potential fatal outcome. Media coverage has proven to help raise awareness among its audiences and motivate education.


For media inquires about Dr. Rapp's expertise, please contact Bridgett S. Joe at 713-498-0552 or via email at bhjoe@scprelations.com.

Have a question for Rapp M.D. ? Email them to Kadisha.Rapp@yahoo.com.