ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: An experimental study was conducted on rats in order to determine the effects of acute anemia and hemodilution on the cicatriztion of the abdominal wall. METHODS: Forty two Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups: control, anemic and hemodiluted. Acute anemia was promoted by removing 3 ml of blood/100 g animal body weight. An equal volume of isotonic saline was injected into animals submitted to hemodilution. The evolution of the abdominal scar was determined at 7 and 14 days by measuring rupture tension and collagen concentration. The resistance gain was similar in all three groups at the level of the skin scars. RESULTS: In contrast, in the scars of the peritoneum-muscle-aponevrotic plane, resistance was similar in the anemic and hemodiluted rats throughout the study period, but when the resistance of the scars of these groups was compared to that of the control on the 7th day it was found to be lower (anemic rats, p=0.0360; hemodiluted rats, p=0.0270). The same was observed on the 14th day, when anemic and hemodiluted rats presented less resistant scars than the controls (p=0.0270). The collagen concentration in the skin scars was lower in the anemic group than in the hemodiluted group on the 7th day, but the difference was nonsignificant when compared to that of the control group. On the 14th day, control and hemodiluted rats had a higher collagen concentration than anemic rats (p=0.0020 and p=0.0390). On 14th day the collagen concentration were lower in the scar peritoneum-muscle-aponevrotic (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Thus, under the conditions of the experiment, the skin scar did not show a change in resistance although anemic rats had a lower collagen concentration throughout the study period, and the peritoneum-muscle-aponevrotic scars showed a change in resistance on the 14th day and presented lower collagen concentration in anemic rats.