Chlorhexidine disinfectant may perform best in killing bone tumor cells after surgery

Medical Xpress / Wolters Kluwer Health / The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery ^ | Oct. 28, 2022 | Matthew J. Thompson, MD et al

[ConservativeMind]

The widely used disinfectant chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) appears to be the most effective irrigation solution for use as part of the surgical treatment of bone tumors.

Of the various solutions used to eliminate remaining tumor cells after surgery, a 0.05% CHG solution appears to be most effective in killing cultured bone tumor cells, according Matthew J. Thompson, MD.

Some patients with bone tumors undergo a surgical procedure called intralesional curettage. In this procedure, the tumor is scraped away while preserving as much healthy bone as possible. A common adjuvant treatment is to irrigate the operative area of the bone with some kind of chemical solution. This irrigation is performed to reduce the number of remaining cells that could potentially lead to tumor recurrence and reseeding.

Several different solutions have been used for irrigation of the tumor bed, including saline, ethanol, and various disinfectants. Dr. Thompson performed a series of experiments to determine which has the greatest cytotoxic (cell-killing) effects.

The experiments used cultures of two types of bone tumors: giant cell tumor, a benign but aggressive tumor; and chondrosarcoma. Tumor cell cultures were treated with one of six different solutions—sterile water, 0.9% saline, 70% ethanol, 3% hydrogen peroxide, 0.05% CHG, and 0.3% povidone-iodine. Cytotoxicity was compared for the different treatments.

Of the six treatments, only CHG had cell-killing effectiveness equivalent to a control solution with 100% cytotoxicity, and this outcome was observed regardless of the treatment period (i.e., 2 minutes or 5 minutes).

None of the other solutions approached the cell-killing effectiveness of CHG. Only two solutions (sterile water and hydrogen peroxide) were superior to a control treatment with low cytotoxicity. The other three solutions tested—saline, ethanol, and povidone-iodine—showed little or no cytotoxicity.

Chlorhexidine is a familiar disinfectant with various medical uses, including as a topical antiseptic agent before surgery.

[ConservativeMind]

If your surgeon can make a choice for you, it would seem worthwhile to have highly diluted chlorhexidine gluconate used.

[ConservativeMind]

The “Take Charge Of Your Health” Ping List
This high volume ping list is for health articles and studies which describe something you or your doctor, when informed, may be able to immediately implement for your benefit.

Email me to get on either the “Common/Top Issues” (20 - 25% fewer pings) or “Everything” list.

[ByteMercenary]

So, ... not like drinking Clorox? (/sarc)

[tired&retired]

Chlorhexidine mouth rinse is common in Europe.

[Albion Wilde]

Chlorhexidine (Oral Route) Description and Brand Names