Chest
Clinical Investigations: InfectionSterilization of Talc for Pleurodesis: Available Techniques, Efficacy, and Cost Analysis
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
Six suppliers of USP talc were identified from standard chemical supply catalogues: (1) Humco, Texarkana, Tex; (2) Spectrum Chemical Manufacturing Corporation, Gardenia, Calif; (3) J.T. Baker, Phillipsburg, NJ; (4) City Chemical Corporation, New York; (5) Integra Chemical Company, Renton, Wash; and (6) Mallinckrodt Specialty Chemical Company, Chesterfield, Mo. One pound of talc was purchased from each supplier. The talc from each supplier was weighed into 5-g portions and placed into self-seal
Results
Unsterile specimens from each supplier cultured Bacillus species immediately and at 30 and 90 days after packaging (Table 1). Specimens from suppliers 1 and 4 that were submitted immediately after packaging cultured coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. None of the sterilized specimens had any growth of bacteria or fungal organisms at any testing time.
The actual cost of talc varies widely between distributors, with prices ranging from $5 to $25.10/lb. The average price of $8.86/lb was used in the
Discussion
Talc used for pleurodesis is USP asbestos free and must meet minimal criteria with regard to loss on ignition, acid-soluble substances, water-soluble substances, arsenic, lead, and heavy metals.2 Additional product specifications vary among manufacturers. Although talc is not packaged sterilely by the manufacturer, limitation on the number of microorganisms is a part of USP specifications and total bacteria count cannot exceed 500/g. Several protocols for sterilization have been described
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank Gloria Infinger for her assistance with sterile processing.
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