Endoscopy 2004; 36 - 2
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-834490

Effect of Ischaemic Preconditioning of the Intestine on the Portal Venous Blood Flow

IH Mallick 1, W Yang 1, MC Winslet 1, AM Seifalian 1
  • 1University Department of Surgery, Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, United Kingdom

Aims: This study was designed to evaluate the effect of ischaemic preconditioning (IPC) on the portal flow in a rat model of intestinal ischaemia reperfusion (IR) injury.

Methods: Rats were allocated into 3 groups (a) sham group, (b) IR group consisting of 30min of intestinal ischaemia followed by 2 hr of reperfusion and (c) IPC group, as in IR group, but preceded by 10min of ischaemia and followed by 10min of reperfusion. Arterial oxygen saturation (SaO 2) and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) were monitored continuously. The portal venous flow (PVF) was measured continuously by Transonic Medical Flowmeter system with a perivascular probe placed around the portal vein. Serum samples for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and biopsies of ileum were obtained at the end of the experiment.

Results: Ischaemia of the small intestine induced transient increase in MAP. The PVF improved significantly (P<0.05) in IPC compared to IR. Serum LDH was significantly reduced (P<0.001) in IPC (667.1±86.8) as compared to Group IR (1973.8±306.5). Histological evaluation demonstrated that IPC had a protective effect on the ileal mucosa.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that IPC improves the portal venous flow and attenuates intestinal IR injury.