delirium or hallucinations. difficult urination. difficulty swallowing. dry eyes, mouth, nose, or throat.As with any other general anesthetic agent, propofol should be administered only where appropriately trained staff and facilities for monitoring are available, as well as proper airway management, a supply of supplemental oxygen, artificial ventilation, and cardiovascular resuscitation.Because of its lipid base, some hospital facilities require the IV tubing (of continuous propofol infusions) to be changed after 12 hours. This is a preventive measure against microbial growth and infection. Propofol infusion syndrome
A rare, but serious, side effect is propofol infusion syndrome. This potentially lethal metabolic derangement has been reported in critically ill patients after a prolonged infusion of high-dose propofol, sometimes in combination with catecholamines and/or corticosteroids. Interactions
The respiratory effects of propofol are increased if given with other respiratory depressants, including benzodiazepines. Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
Propofol has been proposed as having several mechanisms of action, both through potentiation of GABAA receptor activity and therefore acting as a GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulator, thereby slowing the channel-closing time. At high doses, propofol may be able to activate GABAA receptors in the absence of GABA, behaving as a GABAA receptor agonist as well. Propofol analogs have been shown to also act as sodium channel blockers. Some research has also suggested that the endocannabinoid system may contribute significantly to propofols anesthetic action and to its unique properties. An EEG study on patients undergoing general anesthesia with propofol found that it causes a prominent reduction in the brains information integration capacity.
GB patent 1472793, John B Glen & Roger James, "Pharmaceutical Compositions", published 1977-05-04,  assigned to Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd