Effects of supplemental perioperative oxygen on post-operative abdominal wound adhesions in a mouse laparotomy model with controlled respiratory support.

BACKGROUND Post-operative adhesion formation is a major clinical problem. Tissue oxygenation is one of the most important determinants in adhesion formation. The objective of this study was to investigate whether supplemental perioperative oxygen could reduce post-operative adhesion formation through increasing the peritoneal tissue oxygen tension (PitO2) in a mouse model. METHODS Adult C57BJ6 mice were randomly assigned to two groups: Group 1 (n = 20), Fraction of Inspired Oxygen (FiO2): 0.21; Group 2 (n = 20), FiO2: 0.80. On day 0, over the course of the 90 min procedure including the 60 min of laparotomy, PitO2 was continuously monitored. On day 7, a second laparotomy was performed to assess abdominal wound adhesions. Real-time RT–PCR was performed to measure expression levels of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) mRNA in peritoneal tissues. RESULTS The PitO2 levels in Group 2 were significantly higher compared to Group 1 (P P P P P CONCLUSIONS Supplemental perioperative oxygen may help to reduce post-operative adhesion formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]