Evaluation of the risk of contamination of surgical personnel by vaporization of oxaliplatin during the intraoperative hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)

Aims To evaluate if oxaliplatin is likely to vaporize under HIPEC conditions and to see if it could be a source of pulmonary contamination for surgeons. Methods Three oxaliplatin concentrations (230, 460 and 920 mg oxaliplatin/l), 3 heating temperatures (41, 43 and 45 °C) and 3 bubbling durations (30, 60 and 90 min) were tested. Drug vaporization was evaluated by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to analyze platinum concentrations in the trap solutions. Results At all concentrations of oxaliplatin solutions, heating temperatures and bubbling trap periods, the quantities of vaporized platinum were always insignificantly lower than 1 μg/l. Conclusions The experimental risk of pulmonary contamination of hospital staff during HIPEC procedure appears to be negligible. However a monitoring study with an analysis of samples of the operating theatre and urine from surgical personnel should be carried out to confirm these conclusions.