CHG irrigation performed best in intraop treatment of bone tumors

Editor's Note

This experimental study, led by researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, finds that chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) is the most effective irrigation solution for use as part of the surgical treatment of bone tumors.

Cultures of two types of bone tumors (giant cell and chondrosarcoma) 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.

Of the six treatments, only CHG had cell-killing effectiveness equivalent to a control solution with 100% cytotoxicity, regardless of the treatment time (2 minutes or 5 minutes).

The use of a 0.05% CHG irrigation solution could be a potential chemical adjuvant intraoperatively during intralesional curettage of giant cell and chondrosarcoma bone tumors, the researchers say. This common solution is readily available and has a lower predicted toxicity than some currently used agents.