Oxidant status increased during fracture healing in rats

We evaluated oxidant status during bone healing in 50 rats. In 40 rats, the right tibia was fractured and fixed intramedullarly (study leg) and the left tibia was pinned but not fractured (control leg). Rats were killed on days 1, 3, 7, 14, 28 and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were determined in tibial bone tissue. The MDA levels of study and control legs were compared with basal MDA levels in bone in 10 rats. There was no apparent difference between the basal level and control legs, but the study legs showed a statistically significant increase in MDA levels on days 7 and 14. We conclude that no oxidative stress injury occurs during the ischemic period of fracture healing, but it may be significant during inflammation and the formation of callus.