Efficacy of pentoxifylline with aspirin in the treatment of frostbite in rats.

The efficacy of pentoxifylline--a haemorrheologic agent along with aspirin--an analgesic agent was evaluated in the amelioration of the tissue damage due to experimentally induced frostbite in 5 groups (20 each) of rats with body weights ranging between 175 and 200 g. Frostbite was produced experimentally in the hind limbs by exposing the animals to -15 +/- 1 degrees C for 1 h using the harness technique, with simultaneous recording of rectal and environmental temperatures. The degree of tissue damage was assessed on the basis of tissue necrosis after 15 days. Administration of pentoxifylline (40 mg/kg bw) 30 min before and 30 min after the cold exposure followed by two doses of the same daily for the next 5 days along with aspirin (5 mg/kg bw) twice daily for the same duration only after cold exposure, resulted in significant improvement in the degree of tissue preservation. The findings of this preliminary study have brought to light the potential usefulness of these drugs in the treatment of frostbite. The combined pharmacological properties of these two drugs might have altered the haemorrheologic status of blood and produced the curative beneficial effect in improving tissue survival following experimentally induced frostbite in rats.