Mechanical bowel preparation with different solutions in rats with selective left colonic ischemia and reperfusion injury

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of preoperative mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) on colonic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Methods Seventy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into 7 equal groups of 10 rats each. Groups were assigned as follows: group I = sham surgery; group II = I/R of left colon (control group); group III = intravenous heparin and metronidazole followed by I/R of the left colon; groups IV through VII = before I/R of the left colon, heparin and metronidazole and MBP were performed with sodium chloride (NaCl), Na phosphate, polyethylene glycol, and mannitol, respectively. Histopathogic and biochemical parameters were evaluated. Results According to the histopathologic changes, the groups least affected by I/R injury were groups V and VII. Catalase activity was significantly higher in groups V and VII, and copper-zinc superoxide dismutase activity was significantly higher in group VII compared with the control group (P <.002). Conclusions MBP with sodium phosphate and mannitol appears to be more protective against I/R injury.