Background: Recent studies suggest that intraluminal pancreatic enzymes play a major role in the initiation of the inflammatory cascade by the gut after hemorrhagic shock. Previous animal models have shown that the inhibition of enteral pancreatic enzymes with a serine protease inhibitor, nafamostat mesilate (NM), decreases leukocyte activation and transfusion requirements after hemorrhagic shock. The objective of this study was to determine whether enteroclysis with NM would improve the clinical outcomes in swine after hemorrhagic shock and intestinal hypoperfusion.
Methods: Thirty-three male Yucatan minipigs weighing 25 kg to 30 kg underwent a controlled hemorrhage of 25 mL/kg with mesenteric clamp for further gut ischemia. Animals were allocated to three groups: (1) shock only (n = 15), (2) shock + enteroclysis with 100 mL/kg GoLYTELY (GL) as a carrier (n = 11), and (3) shock + enteroclysis with GL + 0.37 mmol/L NM (GL+NM, n = 7). Animals were resuscitated, recovered from anesthesia, observed for 3 days, and graded on a daily 4-point clinical scoring system. A score of 0 indicated a moribund state or early death, and a score of 4 indicated normal behavior.
Results: Pigs treated with GL + NM had significantly higher mean postoperative recovery scores (3.8 +/- 0.4, essentially normal behavior with no early deaths) compared with animals within the shock only and shock + GL groups (2.1 +/- 1 with one early death and 2.2 +/- 1.2 with two early deaths, respectively, analysis of variance p < 0.003).
Conclusion: The inhibition of intraluminal pancreatic enzymes using enteroclysis with the serine protease inhibitor, NM, after hemorrhagic shock significantly improves the clinical outcome.