Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.
Penn State Department of Neurosurgery, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.
Neurosurgery. 2021 Jun 15;89(1):E3-E7. doi: 10.1093/neuros/nyab107.
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a chemical with a wide range of applications. This includes its use in the medical field, in which its use has been ubiquitous but is most useful as an antiseptic and in achieving hemostasis. Neurosurgeons have been using H2O2 for well over a century, primarily for its hemostatic and antiseptic effects. This is in spite of the fact that the actual effectiveness of H2O2 as an antiseptic is questionable, and its use, in general, may be more dangerous than it appears. We review the application of H2O2 in medicine generally and, more specifically, in neurosurgery. This review outlines the reasoning behind the use of H2O2 as an antiseptic and details why it may not be as effective as one might think. We also detail its use as a hemostatic agent in neurosurgery, reviewing a number of techniques in which it has been useful in this role. Finally, we review the documented cases of complications associated with the use of H2O2 in neurosurgery. Ultimately, we conclude that the use of H2O2 in neurosurgery be reconsidered because of its lack of effectiveness as an antiseptic and potentially fatal complications.
过氧化氢（H2O2）是一种用途广泛的化学物质。它在医疗领域的应用非常广泛，主要用作防腐剂和止血剂。过氧化氢在神经外科的应用已经超过一个世纪，主要是因为它具有止血和防腐作用。尽管过氧化氢作为防腐剂的实际效果存在疑问，但其使用总体上可能比表面上更危险。我们综述了过氧化氢在医学中的应用，特别是在神经外科中的应用。本综述概述了将过氧化氢用作防腐剂的原因，并详细说明了为什么它可能不如人们想象的那样有效。我们还详细介绍了它在神经外科中作为止血剂的用途，综述了一些在该领域中有用的技术。最后，我们综述了与过氧化氢在神经外科中的使用相关的并发症的病例。最终，我们得出结论，由于过氧化氢作为防腐剂效果不佳，且可能导致致命并发症，神经外科中应重新考虑其使用。
