title: Dexamethasone and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose prevent postoperative intraperitoneal adhesions in rats.
abstract: We aimed to evaluate the effects of the barrier agent sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (SCMC) with and without dexamethasone for the prevention of postoperative adhesion formation in a rat model of postoperative peritoneal adhesion. A total of 160 three-month old male and female Wistar rats underwent a laparotomy, and adhesions were induced by ileocecal abrasion. Rats were randomly assigned to 4 groups (n=40 each): group A, untreated; group B, treated with SCMC only; group C1, treated with SCMC + 3 mg dexamethasone, and group C2, treated with SCMC + 8 mg dexamethasone. After 12 days, adhesion formation and histopathological changes were compared. In groups A, B, C1, and C2, the mortality rates were 10, 5, 5, and 5%, respectively. In groups C1 and C2, the adhesions were filmy and easy to dissect and were milder compared with those in groups A and B. The total adhesion score in group C1 (3.38±0.49) was significantly lower than that of group B (6.01±0.57; P<0.01) or group A (8.01±0.67; P<0.05). There was no significant difference in adhesion formation between groups C1 and C2. Compared with groups A and B, groups C1 and C2 exhibited milder histopathological changes. SCMC in combination with dexamethasone can prevent adhesion formation and is a better barrier agent than SCMC alone. The safety and feasibility of SCMC in combination with dexamethasone to prevent adhesion formation after abdominal surgery warrants further clinical study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Norman Bethune First Hospital, Jilin University, Jilin, China.
authors.forename: X H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Medicine, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Jilin, China.
authors.forename: J Q
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Surgery, Zhong Shan Hospital, Dalian University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Xin
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Surgery, Norman Bethune First Hospital, Jilin University, Jilin, China.
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002266:Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D007813:Laparotomy; D008297:Male; D010532:Peritoneal Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010537:Peritoneum / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011897:Random Allocation; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D000267:Tissue Adhesions / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D003907:Dexamethasone; D002266:Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium