Risks of allergy vial contamination: comparison of mixing in-office versus under ventilation hood.
OBJECTIVE
Compare the risk of bacterial contamination of allergy immunotherapy vials prepared in-office versus those mixed under a ventilation hood.


METHODS
Prospective single-blinded study.


METHODS
Tertiary otolaryngology outpatient clinic.


RESULTS
Five hundred thirty-seven vials were prepared and cultured for aerobes and anaerobes over an 11-month period. Three hundred twenty vials were arbitrarily assigned to in-office preparation and 217 to under-hood preparation. A total of two positive cultures occurred in vials prepared in-office and one from under-hood preparation. Follow-up cultures of these three vials were all negative. No patients receiving injections had signs or symptoms of skin or systemic infections from the injections.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that the risk of bacterial contamination in immunotherapy vials in both groups is rare.
Lay
P Chase
PC
Department of Surgery/Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, USA.
Bass
Richard
R
Hughes
Larry F
LF
Lin
Sandra Y
SY
D000485:Allergens / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004340:Drug Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D004349:Drug Packaging; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D014691:Ventilation / Q000592:standards
D000485:Allergens