Dear Laparoscopic Surgeons: Caution with the Use of Glutaraldehyde!!!

BACKGROUND

The occupational hazards of glutaraldehyde are well known; the possibility of harm to the patients has been highlighted in the form of isolated reports only.

OBJECTIVE

To synthesize evidence for contact mucosal injury or injury due to intraperitoneal instillation of glutaraldehyde following its use during laparoendoscopy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The current review is Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) compliant. PubMed, PubMed Central, and Google Scholar were interrogated for animal and human studies upon the harmful effects of glutaraldehyde during laparoscopy and proctosigmoido-colonoscopy.

RESULTS

Thirty-five studies substratified into animal experiments ( = 2), glutaraldehyde-induced colitis (G-iC) postendoscopy ( = 30), and laparoscopy ( = 3) were included. Rats suffered mucosal injury following colonic injection of glutaraldehyde which was time- and concentration-dependent quantum and developed bloody diarrhoea. Omental and renal injury was observed due to glutaraldehyde instillation during simulation of intra-peritoneal insufflation in rats; the serum leucocytes, CRP and creatinine were also elevated. G-iC following colonoscopy was related to contact mucosal injury due to failure (human or machinery) to rinse the chemical off the instrument surface or as a case of mistaken identity (glutaraldehyde was mistaken for saline or another reagent). The incubation period was <24 h in 90% of patients; clinical presentation was related to the initiation of intense inflammation. Intraperitoneal instillation during laparoscopy also leads to intense inflammation. One patient was asymptomatic, the second required laparotomy and peritoneal irrigation for 48 h, while the third case underwent multiple laparotomies for enteric cutaneous and enteroenteric fistulae, adhesions, and multiple intra-abdominal abscesses. Hydronephrosis consequent to retroperitoneal fibrosis has been reported.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of glutaraldehyde in the patient care facilities should be discontinued; when unavoidable, the standard processes of disinfection and rinsing must be stringently followed.