Corticosteroid Reduces Blood Flow to Femoral Heads in Rabbits

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head is one of the common problems in orthopedic practice in Taiwan. The subchondral bone loses its blood supply which weakens its biomechanical support. Steroid overuse is one of many possible etiologies in reducing blood flow to the femoral head. Laser Doppler velocimeter is a precise monitor of regional blood flow of bone which is expressed in perfusion units (PU). In the control group the rabbits were injected with normal saline and there were no statistical differences between blood flow to the right hip (39.26 +/- 5.64 PU) and left hip (38.58 +/- 4.35 PU). In group B a weekly injection of methylprednisolone into rabbits for 6 weeks demonstrated the reduction of blood flow of femoral head (24.74 +/- 3.13 PU) by the laser Doppler velocimeter. The flow decreased further (15.93 +/- 2.33 PU) by 12 weeks of steroid treatment. In group C after a weekly injection of steroid for 6 weeks the flow became 31.63 +/- 4.79 PU. The steroid was then discontinued for 3 weeks and the flow was 34.6 +/- 1.34 PU. In group D the blood flow was 25.89 +/- 4.01 PU after 6 weeks of steroid treatment and we stopped the steroid for 6 weeks, the blood flow became 29.86 +/- 2.59 PU. The merit of our experiment established a model of study in avascular necrosis of the femoral head in rabbits. Copyright 1994 S. Karger AG, Basel