Jefferson University Hospitals

A CNN story appearing online last week includes the insights of Jefferson’s Director of Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management, Eugene Viscusi, MD. Dr. Viscusi was interviewed regarding the drugs found in Michael Jackson’s body at the time of his death in June. The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled the death a homicide, and found that the drug propofol and the sedative lorazepam were “the primary drugs responsible for Jackson's death.”

Dr. Viscusi commented that adding [sedatives including lorazepam found in Michael Jackson’s body] to propofol, commonly used as a general anesthetic for surgeries and diagnostic procedures, amplifies the sedative effect and increases the risk of respiratory arrest. Interactions are "managed all the time, and well understood" in a hospital setting, he said, but emphasized, "These drugs have no place in an unmonitored setting or in unskilled hands.”

Read the CNN news story.