Pre-Incisional and Multiple Intradermal Injection of N-Acetylcysteine Slightly Improves Incisional Wound Healing in an Animal Model

Authors

• Wictor Pascal, Medical University of Warsaw
• Antoni Smolinski, Medical University of Warsaw
• Mateuz Gotowiec, Medical University of Warsaw
• Marta Wojtkiewicz, Medical University of Warsaw
• Albert Stachura, Medical University of Warsaw
• Kaspar Pelka, Medical University of Warsaw
• Michal Kopka, Medical University of Warsaw
• Kyle P. Quinn, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
• Alan E. Woessner, University of Arkansas, FayettevilleFollow
• Dariusz Grzelecki, Professor Adam Gruca Orthopedic and Trauma Teaching Hospital, Otwock, Poland
• Pavel Wlodarski, Medical University of Warsaw

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-10-2024

Keywords

wound healing; skin; N-acetylcysteine; pretreatment; rat; local anesthesia additive; incision; surgical

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate if delivering multiple doses of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) post-surgery in addition to pre-incisional administration significantly impacts the wound healing process in a rat model. Full-thickness skin incisions were carried out on the dorsum of 24 Sprague-Dawley rats in six locations. Fifteen minutes prior to the incision, half of the sites were treated with a control solution, with the wounds on the contralateral side treated with solutions containing 0.015%, 0.03% and 0.045% of NAC. In the case of the NAC treated group, further injections were given every 8 h for three days. On days 3, 7, 14 and 60 post-op, rats were sacrificed to gather material for the histological analysis, which included histomorphometry, collagen fiber organization analysis, immunohistochemistry and Abramov scale scoring. It was determined that scars treated with 0.015% NAC had significantly lower reepithelization than the control at day 60 post-op (p = 0.0018). Scars treated with 0.045% NAC had a significantly lower collagen fiber variance compared to 0.015% NAC at day 14 post-op (p = 0.02 and p = 0.04) and a lower mean scar width than the control at day 60 post-op (p = 0.0354 and p = 0.0224). No significant differences in the recruitment of immune cells and histological parameters were found. The results point to a limited efficacy of multiple NAC injections post-surgery in wound healing.

Citation

Pascal, W., Smoliński, A., Gotowiec, M., Wojtkiewicz, M., Stachura, A., Pełka, K., Kopka, M., Quinn, K. P., Woessner, A. E., Grzelecki, D., & Włodarski, P. (2024). Pre-Incisional and Multiple Intradermal Injection of N-Acetylcysteine Slightly Improves Incisional Wound Healing in an Animal Model. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(10), 5200. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25105200

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