The preventive effect of Rofecoxib in postoperative intraperitoneal adhesions

Previous studies showed that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAI) drugs suppressed prostaglandin synthesis and were able to prevent adhesion formation following surgical trauma to the peritoneum. The selective suppression inflammatory cascade may prevent adhesion formation. Therefore, we planned this study to experimentally evaluate the effects of Rofecoxib, the selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitor, in postoperative intraperitoneal adhesions in an animal model.

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups of 10. All rats underwent midline laparotomy under ketamine anaesthesia (25 mg/kg im). In group 1 (n = 10), the sham operation group (SG); abdominal walls were closed without any process after 2 minutes. In Group 2 (n = 10), the control group (CG); standard serosal damage was constituted and the abdominal wall was closed. In group 3 (n = 10), the COX-2 group (COXG), after serosal damage, the abdominal wall was closed. A 12 mg/kg/day dose of was given orally to the rats during one week. On the 7th postoperative day, all rats were sacrificed and intra-abdominal adhesions were evaluated both macroscopically and microscopically.

Macroscopically, no serious adhesion formations were seen in the SG. Multiple adhesion formations of the CG were significantly more than those of the SG (p < 0.0001). It was determined that adhesions of the COXG diminished (p < 0.0001) when macromorphological adhesion scale results of the COXG were compared with those of the CG. The adhesion scores of the CG were compared microscopically with those of the COXG and granulation tissue formation and fibrosis in the COXG were found to be significantly less than those of the CG (respectively p = 0.002, p < 0.0001).

We were of the opinion that Rofecoxib, the selective cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor, was effective in the prevention of postoperative peritoneal adhesions.