The effects of hyperbaric oxygen treatment on ischemia reperfusion injury in ischemic priapism model: Experimental study

Objective:We aimed to create an experimental ischemic priapism model in rats, to observe the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) on histopathological and biochemical parameters and to investigate whether it can be used as a treatment alternative in ischemic priapism disease. Materials and Methods:. In this study, a total of 34 male Wistar-Albino rats were used in 4 groups. Group 1 (n:7) was determined as the sham group. In Group 2 (I/R) (n:10) , a priapism model was created, and the constrictor band was removed at the end of the 4th hour, and the rats were kept for 1 week during the reperfusion phase. In Group 3 (I/R+HBO) (n:10) , rats with a priapism model were given 1 session of HBO treatment per day for 7 days in an oxygen tank specially made for the experimental animals during the reperfusion phase. In Group 4(HBO) (n:7), HBO treatment was given to healthy rats for 7 days without creating a model. Penectomy was performed in all groups at the end of the procedures and 3 ml of blood was taken from the abdominal aorta. Half of the penile tissue samples were examined histopathologically. Catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), endothelial nitric oxide synthetase (eNOS) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1a (HIF1A) were studied from homogenized tissue and blood samples. The data obtained from the groups were compared with appropriate statistical methods. Results: A statistically significant increase was found in Group 2 in terms of activation of polymorph nuclear leukocytes (PMNL) and chronic inflammation compared to Group 1 and Group 4. In addition, the chronic inflammation levels in Group 3 were found to be statistically significantly lower than those in Group 2. (p<0.05) There was no significant difference between Group 2 and Group 3 in terms of eNOS, GPX, CAT and HIF1A levels in both systemic blood and penile tissue. Considering all the findings, it was determined that HBO treatment did not increase the damage in any parameter, neither biochemically nor histopathologically, in ischemia-reperfusion injury in the cavernosal tissue due to priapism. Conclusions: HBO therapy may be an alternative or adjunctive treatment option to reduce the effects of priapism in the chronic process of priapism by reducing chronic inflammation. Key Words: Priapism,ischemic reperfusion injury,hyperbaric oxygen