Influence of misoprostol, a synthetic prostaglandin E1 analog, on the healing of colonic anastomoses in rats.

PURPOSE

This study was designed to examine the influence of misoprostol, a synthetic prostaglandin E1 analog, on the healing of colonic anastomoses in rats, with particular regard to changes in collagen levels at the site of the anastomoses and their histopathologic aspects.

METHODS

Sixty rats were submitted to resection and anastomosis of the colon, and divided at random into two groups. The test group received misoprostol intragastrically (200 micrograms/kg body weight), twice daily, from the day of operation until sacrifice. Controls received 0.9 percent NaCl. The animals were sacrificed on the third, seventh, or fourteenth postoperative day, and the results of the histopathologic analyses and hydroxyproline concentrations were compared.

RESULTS

Our results show that misoprostol administration increased the hydroxyproline concentration on the fourteenth postoperative day without interfering in the inflammatory response (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Misoprostol interferes with the balance between the synthesis and degradation of collagen, resulting in an elevation of collagen levels by the fourteenth postoperative day without influencing the inflammatory response.