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Repeated Doses of Ketamine Affect the Infant Rat Urogenital System
Hulya Kasıkara1, Nuran Sungu2, Mustafa Arslan3
1Department of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Insights
Long-term ketamine use in rats caused kidney and testicular damage, increasing oxidative stress and altering enzyme activity. These findings suggest potential risks associated with repeated ketamine anesthesia, particularly in pediatric radiation oncology.
Area of Science:
- Toxicology
- Reproductive Biology
- Oncology Support Care
Background:
- Long-term ketamine use is linked to bladder issues (interstitial cystitis-like problems).
- Ketamine is administered for sedation in children undergoing radiotherapy.
- Potential systemic effects beyond the bladder are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of long-term ketamine exposure on kidney and testicular tissues.
- To evaluate biochemical and histopathological changes in male rats following repeated ketamine administration.
Main Methods:
- Male Wistar Albino rats were divided into ketamine (50 mg/kg/day) and saline groups for 21 days.
- Kidney and testicular tissues were collected for analysis.
- Evaluations included histopathology, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), catalase (CAT), and paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) activity.
Main Results:
- Ketamine exposure led to increased tubule epithelial congestion in kidneys and epididymis congestion/distortion.
- Testicular and kidney TBARS levels were significantly elevated in the ketamine group.
- Catalase activity decreased, while paraoxonase-1 activity increased in ketamine-treated rats.
Conclusions:
- Repeated ketamine administration induces oxidative stress and histopathological damage in rat kidneys and testicles.
- Findings suggest potential risks for reproductive organs and kidneys with prolonged ketamine use.
- Further clinical and broad experimental studies are warranted to confirm these effects.
Aim:
Long-term ketamine use is known to create an interstitial cystitis-like problem in the bladder. It is known that long-term intermittent ketamine is applied to the children receiving radiotherapy for sedation. This study was planned to investigate whether this effect seen in the bladder causes similar changes in the kidneys, testicles, epididymis and ductus deferens.
Materials And Methods:
A total of 12 male Wistar Albino rats for 3 weeks were used in the study. Rats were divided equally into 2 groups as, ketamine and saline. 50 mg/kg ketamine was administered intraperitoneally during 21 days to ketamine (K) groups. 1mL/kg saline was administered intraperitoneally during 21 days to saline (S) groups. At the end of 21 days kidney and testicular tissues were taken for biochemical and histopathological evaluations.
Results:
Histological assessment of kidney tissue showed that tubule epithelial congestion increased significantly in the ketamine group. Epididymis congestion and distortion in the epididymal gland were found to be different in the ketamine group when testicular tissue was examined. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) level in testicular and kidney tissue was found to be significantly higher in the ketamine group according to the saline group. Catalase (CAT) enzyme activity was significantly lower in the ketamine group compared to the saline group in both tissues. Paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) enzyme activity was significantly higher in the ketamine group compared to the saline group.
Conclusion:
We think that the results we have achieved in this study will provide guidance on ketamine, which is repeated in daily anesthesia applications, especially in radiation oncology. But these findings should be supported by clinical and experimental studies that will be conducted in a more detailed and broad series.
