Intestinal healing in rats submitted to ethanol ingestion

purpose: to study the effect of alcoholism on intestinal healing and postoperative complications in rats methods: one hundred and sixty rats were divided into two groups: control and treated. the control group received water and the treated group 30% ethanol. after 180 days, colotomy with anastomosis were performed. after, the groups were divided into four subgroups: 20 rats for study at the following moments: 4th, 7th, 14th and 21st postoperative. the analyzed parameters were: weight gain, breaking strength, tissue hydroxyproline, postoperative complications and histopathological study results: weight gain was greater in the control group (p<0.05). when all the subgroups were clustered, breaking strength was significantly greater in the control (p<0.05). histopathology and hydroxyproline dosage did not show differences. there were five surgical site infections in the treated group while the control group showed two (p>0.05). nine fistulas occurred in the treated group whereas the control group two (p<0.05). there were three deaths in the control group and seven in the treated group (p>0.05). conclusions: treated group undergo a malnutrition process that is revealed by lower weight gain. impaired intestinal healing as indicated by smaller breaking strength. there were a larger number of postoperative complications in the treated animals.