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Inhibition of fracture healing by indomethacin in rats
Author(s) -
SUDMANN EINAR,
DREGELID EINAR,
BESSESEN ATLE,
MØRLAND JØRG
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2362.1979.tb00893.x
Subject(s) - bone healing , medicine , placebo , femur , surgery , closed fracture , anesthesia , pathology , alternative medicine
. The effect of indomethacin (2 mg/kg/day) on the healing of closed unimmobilized femoral fractures was examined in rats. A standard femoral fracture was produced in 205 male adolescent rats, and three different experiments were done. In a long‐term experiment, the rats were treated with either indomethacin or placebo for 29 days and fracture healing followed for a maximum of 91 days. In two short‐term experiments, the rats were treated with either indomethacin or placebo for a week and followed for a maximum of 122 days. The effect of age was studied in one experiment. Indomethacin plasma levels were about 1 μg/ml in the indomethacin‐treated animals. In the long‐term experiment, indomethacin inhibited fracture healing ( P < 0·006) and increased the angulation between the femur fragments. In the short‐term experiments indo‐methacin inhibited fracture healing ( P < 0·033) and increased the interfragmentary angle as well as fracture instability. All untreated fractures healed within 10 weeks in younger rats (210 g), whereas only 44% healed in older rats (295 g).