Low temperature offers better foam stability

Area of Science:

• Vascular Surgery
• Minimally Invasive Procedures
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Foam structural longevity is critical for effective sclerotherapy.
• Preparation conditions significantly impact foam stability and treatment efficacy.
• Optimal factors for enhancing sclerotherapy foam are still under investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of preparation variables on sclerotherapy foam stability.
• To determine optimal conditions for preparing physician-compounded foam for sclerotherapy.
• To assess the effect of air ratio, agent temperature, and polidocanol concentration on foam half-time (FHT).

Main Methods:

• Conducted in vitro preclinical research with 144 independent trials.
• Evaluated 8 combinations of settings: +4°C vs. room temperature (20-22°C), 1:1 vs. 1:4 liquid-to-air ratios, and 0.5% vs. 1% polidocanol concentrations.
• Utilized the modified Tessari method to assess foam half-time (FHT) as the primary stability metric.

Main Results:

• The mean FHT was 117 ± 30.4 seconds.
• The longest FHT (146.2–146.9 seconds) was achieved with a 1:4 air-to-sclerosant ratio at +4°C, irrespective of polidocanol concentration.
• Temperature was the primary influencing factor (p < 0.001), with +4°C preparation extending FHT by 32.5 seconds compared to 22°C.

Conclusions:

• Temperature, agent concentration, and gas ratio significantly influence physician-compounded foam stability.
• Preparation at a low temperature of +4°C demonstrably enhances foam half-time (FHT).
• Utilizing +4°C may provide superior foam stability for sclerotherapy applications.