Evaluating the effect of methylprednisolone on ischemic injury in an experimental intussusception model in rats

Purpose: Our aim is to evaluate the impact of methylprednisolone, which is a well-documented anti-inflammatory agent, on the histopathological results of the ischemic injury caused by intussusception. Materials and Method: 33 Wistar albino rats were randomly assigned to 3 different groups. In the Control Group, a laparotomy was performed without any intervention, and a 4 cm intestinal segment was excised 8 hours after laparotomy. In the Intussusception group, 2cm long intussusception was induced at the intestine 20 cm proximal to the caecum by telescopically introducing the proximal intestine into the distal intestine with the help of a proper size sound, and the intussuscepted segment was excised 8 hours later. In the Intussusception-methylprednisolone Group, methylprednisolone was administered 4 hours after induction of intussusception, and the intussuscepted segment was excised 4 hours thereafter. Excised specimens are evaluated histopathologically for edema, apoptosis, lymphatic dilation score, and Park/Chiu ischemia score. Statistical analyses are performed by SPSS software and a p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: All of the histopathological variables were significantly higher in the intussusception models than the Control Group (p<0.05). Edema, apoptosis, lymphatic dilation, and Park/Chiu ischemia scores were not significantly different between intussusception groups with or without methylprednisolone treatment (p>0.05), but edema scores were relatively lower in the methylprednisolone-administered rats. Conclusion: The mechanical intussusception model in rats is a reproducible experimental technique to evaluate the results of medical interventions. Methylprednisolone, which is extensively used in daily practice as a commonly available drug, was found to have no obvious impact on the ischemic injury caused by intussusception. Further studies evaluating the impact of different methylprednisolone regimens with different ischemia durations are needed to evaluate the impact of methylprednisolone on ischemic injury. KEYWORDS: Intussusception, ischemia, methylprednisolone