RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To research and compare the antimicrobial effects of propofol fat emulsion injection (PFEI) which contains disodium edetate (EDTA) or not. METHODS: According to the requirements of Antimicrobial Effectiveness in 2015 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia (Ch. P volume 4, 1121), Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans were used as the test microorganisms, the number of viable microorganisms in 3 batches of PFEI with and without EDTA was determined at 12 h after inoculation. RESULTS: Compared with zero hour, the number of viable microorganisms in PFEI which contains EDTA didn't increase at 12 h, therein the number of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans increased by about 0.5 lg; however, the number of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans in the samples without EDTA increased by 0.5, 0.4, 0.6 and 1.6 lg respectively, except for Aspergillus niger which did not increase. CONCLUSION: Compared with PFEI without EDTA, the samples containing EDTA may reduce the risk of infection caused by accidental contamination. However, it cannot reduce all pathogenic threats for propofol preparations.