Inflammation as a major cause of fluid losses in small-bowel obstruction

The importance of inflammation for fluid losses in obstructive ileus was investigated in vivo in the rat. Inflammation was quantified by spectrophotometry of extravasated Evans blue (Eb)-albumin. Net fluid secretion in the obstructed jejunum was measured by a continuous gravimetric technique. The inflammation in the obstructed gut wall was significantly more pronounced than that in the gut distal to the obstruction and the sham-obstructed gut. The inflammation was significantly more pronounced in the serosa and external muscle layer than in the mucosa-submucosa. Acid-base balance in obstructed animals showed a significant metabolic alkalosis, whereas serum albumin and electrolytes were normal. Lumen fluid in obstructed animals showed low levels of albumin and total calcium as compared with serum, whereas fluid from the peritoneal cavity of obstructed rats showed high contents of albumin. Indomethacin and hydrocortisone given intravenously to obstructed animals significantly reduced the degree of extravasated Eb-albumin in the obstructed gut wall. Sham-operated animals showed net fluid absorption, whereas obstructed rats showed net fluid secretion. Secretion in obstructed animals was in all cases reversed into net fluid absorption after intravenous administration of indomethacin and hydrocortisone. These findings suggest that a pronounced inflammation occurs in the wall of the obstructed small intestine and that this inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the profuse fluid losses of obstructive ileus.