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Updated: Jun 7, 2026
Murine Ileocolic Bowel Resection with Primary Anastomosis
Published on: October 29, 2014
Treatment with chlorhexidine modifies the healing of colon anastomosis in rats
Paulo Roberto Rodrigues Bicalho1, Claudio Alvarenga Campos Mayrink, Fernando Fernandes
1Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Cirurgia, Av. Prof. Alfredo Balena, 190, Belo Horizonte, 30130100, Brazil. gpbicalho1@uol.com.br
Purpose:
To investigate the effects of chlorhexidine on the healing of colon anastomosis in the presence of peritonitis.
Methods:
Peritonitis was induced in male Wistar rats by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The abdominal cavities of experimental animals were irrigated with warm solutions containing 0.9% saline (SAL group; n = 8) or 0.05% chlorhexidine (CHD group; n = 8), following which colon anastomosis was performed. Rats of the control group (n = 8) were submitted to colon anastomosis but not to CLP. Animals were euthanized seven days after surgery, and healing was assessed by histopathological examination and by measuring anastomotic burst pressure.
Results:
Post-operative survival rates were 100, 87.5 and 75% for the control, SAL, and CHD groups, respectively. The degree of inflammation was significantly lower (ρ = 0.01) in the CHD group compared with the other groups, whilst the anastomotic burst pressure within the CHD group (156.7 ± 53.2 mmHg) was lower than, but not significantly different from, those of the control and SAL groups (196.3 ± 49.8, 208.6 ± 72.7 mmHg, respectively).
Conclusions:
Peritoneal irrigation with chlorhexidine solution is effective in the control of inflammation promoted by peritonitis but does not improve healing of colon anastomosis in rats.
