TREATMENT OF EXPERIMENTAL FROSTBITE WITH PENTOXIFYLLINE AND ALOE VERACREAM

Objective: To compare the therapeutic effects of systemic pentoxifylli ne and topical aloe vera cream in the treatment of frostbite. Design: The frostbitten ears of 10 New Zealand white rabbits were assigned to one of four treatment groups: untreated controls, those treated with a loe vera cream, those treated with pentoxifylline, and those treated w ith aloe vera cream and pentoxifylline. Main Outcome Measures: Tissue survival was calculated as the percent of total frostbite area that re mained after 2 weeks. Results: The control group had a 6% tissue survi val. Tissue survival was notably improved with pentoxifylline (20%), b etter with aloe vera cream (24%), and the best with the combination th erapy (30%). Conclusion: Pentoxifylline is as effective as aloe vera c ream in improving tissue survival after frostbite injury.