2024, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (23): 3669-3673

Effect of povidone-iodine on the immersion and flushing of wound tissue in rabbits

Zhang Qiang1, Xu Yan1, Ma Zhuangzhuang2, Zhang Hao2, Li Zihao2, Liu Senhan2, Chen Wei2   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Clinically, the most dangerous and serious complication of artificial joint replacement is periprosthetic infections. It is urgent to find a way to prevent periprosthetic infections after artificial joint replacement.
OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of povidone-iodine on muscle, blood vessel, fat and bone of rabbits after immersion and flushing.
METHODS: Forty male New Zealand rabbits aged 10 weeks were selected. The left hind leg of each rabbit served as the experimental group and the right hind leg served as the control group. After anesthesia, the hind limbs of each rabbit were cut open to expose the muscle, blood vessels, fat and bone. The control group was soaked and flushed with normal saline inside the surgical incision, while the experimental group was soaked and flushed with povidone-iodine inside the surgical incision. After being soaked in povidone-iodine for 0, 1, 3, 5 minutes, 10 rabbits were randomly selected and executed to collect wound tissue samples. The samples were made into pathological slices for hematoxylin-eosin staining observation as well as statistical analysis and comparison of cell counts.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Compared with the control group, the muscle, blood vessels, fat and bone after immersion and flushing with povidone-iodine showed no obvious difference in cell structure, morphology and number under microscope. The paired t-test was used to explore the difference between the control and experimental groups, and the paired data did not show any difference (P > 0.05). It is suggested that povidone-iodine shows no significant difference from normal saline after immersion and flushing of rabbit tissues such as muscle, blood vessels, fat and bone, indicating that povidone-iodine solution as an intra-incisional antiseptic is safe and effective.

Key words: povidone-iodine, wound tissue, immersion, flushing, joint replacement, periprosthetic infection