title: The use of morphometric and fractal parameters to assess the effects of 5-fluorouracil, interferon and dexamethasone treatment on colonic anastomosis healing: an experimental study in rats.
abstract: Adjuvant chemotherapy and steroid therapy have been demonstrated to interfere with the wound healing process. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of 5-fluorouracil, interferon, and dexamethasone, on the healing of colon anastomosis by assessing morphometric and fractal parameters of the colonic wall. An experimental anastomosis of the ascending colon was performed in 60 male Wistar rats, which were then randomly assigned to four groups. On the second to sixth post-operative days, the rats were administered 5-fluorouracil, interferon-α, dexamethasone, or 0.9% NaCl solution as a control. Macroscopic, histomorphometric and microbiological evaluation was performed in order to assess healing of the anastomosis. In three animals from the dexamethasone group, there was leakage of anastomosis; adhesion formation was highest in the interferon group, and significantly higher than in the control and 5-fluorouracil groups. Histomorphometric parameter alterations were most pronounced on the seventh and fourteenth post-operative days in all treatment groups, with submucosal thickness the most affected parameter. Connective tissue fractal dimension was significantly decreased in those animals treated with interferon and dexamethasone. All three pharmaceutical agents impaired healing of anastomosis, and promoted infection in the anastomosis and skin wound sites. As dexamethasone induced both morphometric and macroscopic alterations, it was considered the most detrimental in this study.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biostructure, Human Anatomy Department, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lętowska-Andrzejewicz
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Kamil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dobrowolski
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Piersiak
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maciejewski
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gawron
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Staśkiewicz
authors.forename: Zbigniew
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Plewa
mesh_terms: D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D003106:Colon / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017709:Fractals; D007372:Interferons / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D003907:Dexamethasone; D007372:Interferons; D005472:Fluorouracil