Failure of calcium channel blockade to prevent intra-abdominal adhesions in ponies.

This research investigated the effectiveness of calcium channel blocker verapamil in preventing the formation of post-surgical intra-abdominal adhesions in ponies and found that there was no significant difference in the occurrence of these complications between ponies treated with verapamil and those given a saline solution.

Study Design and Methods

• The research involved 11 adult ponies, in which intra-abdominal adhesions were intentionally caused by localized trauma to the serosa in three locations on the small intestine.
• Post-surgical, these ponies were split into two groups. Six ponies were administered the treatment substance (verapamil hydrochloride) at a dosage of 0.2 mg/kg by subcutaneous injections every eight hours for three days. The control group, comprised of five ponies, was given an equivalent volume of saline solution using the same interval schedule.
• To minimize bias, the researchers were not informed about which treatment each individual pony received.

Measurements and Observations

• Systolic, diastolic, and mean carotid arterial pressures, heart rates, rectal temperatures, packed cell volumes, and total plasma proteins were measured six hours prior to the surgery and then half an hour, one, one and a half, and eight hours after the first dose was administered on each day for three days.
• One of the ponies had to be euthanized on day 13 due to colic, while the remaining ten were euthanized 14 days after surgery for the experimental purposes of the study.
• To assess adhesion formation severity, scoring methods were implemented. Moreover, the histologic appearance of the abraded sites was also graded.

Findings and Conclusion

• No significant differences were identified between the treatment and control groups in terms of all taken measurements including rectal temperature, packed cell volume, total plasma proteins, heart rate, and systolic, diastolic, or mean arterial pressures.
• Similarly, there were no significant differences between treatment groups for adhesion scores per abraded site, total adhesion scores per pony, the total number of adhesions per pony, or in the histologic scores of the abraded sites.
• Given these results, it can be concluded that the application of calcium channel blocker verapamil failed to prevent the formation of post-surgical intra-abdominal adhesions in ponies.