Sterility testing of insulin preparations

The appearance of precipitates and opalescent components hinders testing for the sterility of insulin suspensions by seeding in cultural media. The sampling procedure is improved by dissolving preparations in 0.2% aqueous ascorbic acid solution, which eliminates opalescence and precipitation and facilitates the reading and interpretation of the test results as the test solutions become transparent. This method is suitable with both direct inoculation and membrane filtration. The insulin solution in 0.2% ascorbic acid does not exhibit antimicrobial activity, which makes expedient testing with the more economical direct inoculation. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 55–56, March, 2007.     

The effect of naloxone on the preoperative gastric volume and pH

The effect of 4 mg oral naloxone on preoperative gastric volume and pH of gastric aspirate was studied in a double-blind, randomized study. Twenty patients received 10 ml of naloxone (4 mg) mixed with 10 ml of orange juice, and 20 patients received 10 ml of isotonic saline mixed with 10 ml of orange juice, 2 h before surgery. Gastric content was obtained immediately after intubation of the trachea. No significant difference in gastric volume and pH of gastric aspirate was found between the two groups. It is concluded that naloxone does not affect gastric emptying and gastric acid secretion to a degree great enough to protect against aspiration of gastric contents into the lungs.