[Prevention of extravasation necroses as a complication following intravenous cytostatic drug therapy. Results of an open pilot study].

Extravasation of some cytostatics applied i.v. can often cause local edema with skin redness, thrombophlebitis and not infrequently skin necrosis with chronic ulcera. Local treatment is usually ineffective, and so far surgical excision of ulcera is the only curative approach. Tetrachlorodecaoxygen anion complex (TCDO) has shown high activity in healing chronic leg ulcera, by increasing pO2 in hypoxic wound tissue and stimulating phagocytosis as one of anti-inflammatory processes To study the local activity of TCDO in tissue necrosis and chronic ulcera caused by cytostatic extravasation, 23 patients with local skin complications underwent local treatment with TCDO, made as isotonic water solution. Seventeen patients experienced only local edema with redness, while 6 patients showed deep chronic ulcera. All the skin changes were complications after i.v. doxorubicin, cisplatinum, dactinomycin or vinblastine application. The treatments with TCDO followed 1-3 months after ulcera appeared, while skin inflammations were treated 1-8 days after they occurred. TCDO was applied locally twice a day by impregnated cotton tissue for 4-6 weeks. Evaluable were only measurable lesions. From 17 patients with only skin inflammation 3 patients obtained complete resolution, 8 partial resolution and 6 had stable lesions. Thus, overall response was recorded in 65% of patients (11/17). In 6 patients with deep chronic ulcera a longer treatment (6 weeks) was needed, and in 5 of them the complete epithelization and resolution occurred. One patient had a partial wound healing. No side effects of treatment were observed. The effect of locally applied TCDO in chronic ulcera seems to be preferable to surgical treatment. A controlled study will show the exact therapeutic value of this new anti-inflammatory compound.