The effects of chronic ketorolac tromethamine (toradol) on wound healing

Intramuscular ketorolac is a commonly used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAI) agent for analgesia in surgical patients. Increasing numbers of surgical patients are chronically taking some form of an NSAI drug. We examined the effects of "chronic" intramuscular ketorolac on the healing of a closed linear surgical wound in the rat. Wistar rats were pretreated with 4 mg per kilogram per day ketorolac intramuscularly prior to receiving dorsal incisional wounds. The ketorolac treatment was continued and after 2 weeks the wounds were excised and separated with a tensiometer to measure mechanical properties. Breaking strength was directly measured, tensile strength was calculated, and collagen concentrations at the wound site were determined. A significant decrease in the mean breaking strength was seen in the ketorolac-treated animals when compared to controls. The ketorolac-treated animals had a mean tensile strength less than the controls, although this difference did not reach statistical significance. The mean collagen concentration of the ketorolac-treated wounds was significantly less than the untreated wounds. Use of ketorolac for just 1 week prior to surgery in rats produced a significant decrease in the breaking strength of their wounds. With the increasing use of ketorolac in surgical patients as well as the increasing use of oral NSAI drugs, more study of this effect is warranted.