A new in-vitro study by Professor Mark Whiteley and Dr. Alex Lapenga, published on COP Preprints, has identified a measurable reduction in laser power output when the tip of a radially firing catheter is coated with povidone-iodine.
Endovenous laser ablation (EVLA), a first-line treatment for incompetent truncal veins, typically uses a 1470nm diode laser delivered through a radial fibre catheter. It is common practice for practitioners to clean the catheter tip between treatments of multiple veins, often using either normal saline or povidone-iodine.
In this study, five radial catheters were tested using a 1470nm diode laser set at 10W. Each catheter’s power output was measured in four conditions: firing in air, after immersion in normal saline, after immersion in povidone-iodine, and after povidone-iodine was wiped off with surgical gauze. The results showed the following average power outputs:
- In air: 9.05W
- After saline: 8.90W
- After povidone-iodine: 8.69W
- After wiping off povidone-iodine: 8.87W
The reduction in laser power when the catheter tip was coated with povidone-iodine was statistically significant compared to both air and normal saline. The study concludes that povidone-iodine significantly reduces the energy emitted from the catheter tip, even after being wiped off.
These findings may influence how clinicians approach catheter maintenance during EVLA procedures, particularly where consistent laser power is critical to treatment success.
The full study is available here: https://osf.io/preprints/coppreprints/uzxqf_v1
