Increased intestinal permeability for the isosmolar contrast medium iodixanol during small-bowel ischaemia in rats.
BACKGROUND
Intestinal ischaemia may be difficult to recognize in the early stages. Increased urinary recovery of water-soluble contrast medium during and intestinal follow-through has been suggested as a sign of bowel ischaemia.


METHODS
Urinary excretion of the isosmolar water-soluble X-ray contrast medium iodixanol was measured after instillation via an orogastric tube in 56 rats with occlusion of the mesenteric blood vessels.


RESULTS
Mesenteric venous occlusion caused only minor histologic alterations of the mucosa. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and X-ray fluorescence analysis measured urinary iodixanol concentrations 10 and 13 times higher than in the groups with mesenteric arterial occlusion than in controls (p < 0.001), and 3 and 4 times higher than in the group with venous occlusion (p < or = 0.05). Correlation between HPLC and X-ray fluorescence measurements of contrast medium in urine was strong (r = 0.98).


CONCLUSIONS
Measuring urinary contrast medium levels during intestinal follow-through may aid in distinguishing bowel ischaemia following mesenteric arterial occlusion from mesenteric venous occlusion and from the normal bowel.
Andersen
R
R
Institute for Surgical Research, Rikshospitalet, University of Oslo, Norway.
Stordahl
A
A
Høyseth
H
H
Koppers
R
R
Tverdal
A
A
Aase
S
S
Laerum
F
F
D000818:Animals; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000378:metabolism; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000098:blood supply*; D007511:Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008641:Mesenteric Vascular Occlusion / Q000378:metabolism; D010539:Permeability; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D014283:Triiodobenzoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine
D003287:Contrast Media; D014283:Triiodobenzoic Acids; C044834:iodixanol