OBJECTIVE: Liver and spleen morphologic evaluation of rats submitted to hyperbaric oxygen therapy after hepatic vein ligation. METHOD: Thirty Holtzman adult male rats were used, distributed into two groups of 15 animals: group 1 - hepatic vein ligation; group 2 - hepatic vein ligation associated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. All animals received general anesthesia by a solution composed of ketamine chloride (40 mg/ml) and meperidine chloride (10 mg/ml) in a dose of 50/mg/weight, and were submitted to median laparotomy and hepatic vein ligation. Group 2 animals were submitted to hyperbaric oxygen therapy, 8 hours after the operation, 90 minutes at 2.5 atmosphere pressure and 15 minutes at the onset and end of the therapy, in a total of 120 minutes, in order to promote the gradual compression and decompression in 20 consecutive days. On the 21st preoperative day, the animals were sacrificed by ether inhalation and submitted to laparotomy and stripping of liver and spleen for histological study. The results of the histological study of livers and spleens were compared using Fisher's exact test. Statistically significant difference was considered when P < 0.05. RESULTS: The histological studies made in the livers and spleens of animals from both groups showed the following alterations: presence of thrombosis of hepatic, portal and central lobular veins in five (33.3%) group 1 animals and absence in group 2 animals; very extensive necrosis of liver cells in seven (46.7%) group 1 animals, and light in eight (53.3%), whereas for all group 2 animals such alteration was considered light; Kupffer cells developed and hypertrophied in 14 (93.3%) group 1 animals and slightly developed and hypertrophied in all group 2 animals; high congestion of the spleen purple in six (40%) and moderate in nine (60%) group 1 animals, whereas all group 2 animals had moderate congestion; moderate or severe hemosiderosis in 14 (93.3%) group 1 animals and mild hemosiderosis in all group 2 animals. The statistical analyses performed between both groups showed significant differences (P < 0.05) for all variables. CONCLUSIONS: The hyperbaric oxygen therapy applied in rats submitted to hepatic vein ligation mitigated its early deleterious effects on the liver and spleen, which was confirmed by the histological study.
Hyperbaric oxygen; rats; histological study of liver and spleen
