title: Acute alcohol-induced pancreatic injury is similar with intravenous and intragastric routes of alcohol administration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Five percent of alcoholics develop an acute pancreatitis (AP). The mechanism leading to pancreatic injury is not yet understood. Microcirculatory disorders seem to play a pivotal role. The objective of this study was to compare alcoholic pancreatic injury in response to intravenous and intragastric routes of alcohol administration.
  
  
  METHODS
  Alcohol was applied in rats intravenously (IV) or gastric via a surgical implanted feeding tube (IG). Serum alcohol concentration was maintained between 1.5‰ and 2.5‰. Four subgroups (n = 6/group) were examined in the IV/IG arm and compared with healthy controls. Pancreatic microcirculation, enzyme levels, and morphological damage were assessed after 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Microcirculatory analysis showed significantly disturbed pancreatic perfusion and increased adherent leukocytes in IV and IG animals. In IV and IG groups, serum amylase was increased without morphological signs of AP compared with healthy controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Alcohol application does not induce AP in rodents, but impairs pancreatic microcirculation irrespectively of the application route. Intravenous application is commonly used and shows no disadvantages compared with the physiological intragastric application form. Therefore, the intravenous route offers a valid model, which mimics the physiological process for further studies of the influence of acute alcohol intoxication on the pancreas.
authors: From the *Department of General Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg; and †Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Münster, Münster; and ‡Department of Experimental Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors: Lutz
authors: L
authors: Schneider
authors: Ralf
authors: R
authors: Dieckmann
authors: Thilo
authors: T
authors: Hackert
authors: Martha-Maria
authors: MM
authors: Gebhard
authors: Jens
authors: J
authors: Werner
mesh_terms: D061605:Administration, Intravenous; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D000681:Amylases / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D007441:Intubation, Gastrointestinal; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000187:drug effects*; D010179:Pancreas / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol; D000681:Amylases