Two-Day Fasting Prior to Intestinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury on Bacterial Translocation in Rats

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to verify the effect of two-day fasting prior to intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury on bacterial translocation (BT). Materials and Methods: Mail Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: group 1, control rats that underwent sham operation only; group 2, rats fasted for two days prior to sham operation; group 3, rats that underwent occlusion of mesenteric vessels for 30 min followed by reperfusion for 4 hr; and group 4, rats fasted for two days prior to the same intestinal I/R injury as in group 3. In all groups, E. coli labeled with (99m)Tc were inoculated into the terminal ileum. Two hr after inoculation of E. coli, the rats were killed. A segment of ileum was obtained for histological examination and samples of mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), liver, lung, blood, and spleen were obtained for radioactivity determination. Results: There were no significant differences in the intestinal mucosa and radioactivity of all samples between groups 1 and 2. Group 3 showed significantly shorter mucosa and villi, and higher radioactivity of samples, except for MLNs, compared to group 1. Group 4 showed similar mucosa and villi, but significantly higher radioactivity of samples, except for MLNs, compared to group 3. Conclusion: Two-day fasting without I/R injury does not cause mucosal change and BT, but in cases following intestinal I/R injury, two-day fasting increases the susceptibility of BT to systemic organs in rats.