EFFECT OF SUCRALFATE ON INDUCED CHEMICAL CYSTITIS IN RABBITS

Objective To study the histological effect of locally applied sucralfa te on the urinary bladder in rabbits with chemically induced cystitis. Materials and methods Sucralfate (Ig dissolved in 10 mL, saline) was instilled into the bladders of six rabbits, while four controls had no instillation. The procedure was repeated 4 days later and followed im mediately by 10 mL of 2% formaldehyde infused into the bladder and ret ained for 10 min in all 10 rabbits. After careful flushing with saline , 10 mt sucralfate solution was again instilled in the study group and 10 mt of saline only in the control group. On day 6, the sucralfate i nstillation was repeated in the six treated animals, All the rabbits w ere then killed on day 8-9, their bladders removed and examined macros copically and histologically. Results Formaldehyde instillation was qu ickly followed by gross haematuria in all animals. It subsided in the group treated with sucralfate, but not in the controls. Examination re vealed only slight changes in the former group, but severe inflammator y lesions in the latter. Conclusions Intravesically instilled sucralfa te protected rabbit bladder urothelium against chemically induced cyst itis. Clinical trials of intravesical sucralfate seem warranted in pat ients irradiated for pelvic cancer or with severe cystitis caused by c ytotoxic drugs.