Various irrigation fluids affect postoperative brain edema and cellular damage during experimental neurosurgery in rats

Abstract Background This study was conducted to investigate how various irrigation fluids used during neurosurgical procedures affect the degree of postoperative brain edema and cellular damage during experimental neurosurgery in rats. Methods The cerebral cortex was exposed and incised crosswise with a surgical knife under irrigation with an artificial CSF, lactated Ringer's solution, or normal saline. Four hours after injury, irrigation was stopped and brain tissue samples were obtained from injured and uninjured sites. Specific gravity, cerebrovascular permeability, and TTC staining of the samples were evaluated. Incision and irrigation of the brain were not performed on the control group. Results At the injured site, specific gravities of the samples in the normal saline group and the lactated Ringer's solution group were significantly lower than the specific gravity in the artificial CSF group. The EB concentration was significantly higher in the lactated Ringer's solution group and relatively high in the normal saline group as compared with the artificial CSF group. TTC staining did not differ significantly between the artificial CSF group and the control group. It was significantly lower in the lactated Ringer's solution group and the normal saline group than in the control group and the artificial CSF group. Conclusions As compared with normal saline and lactated Ringer's solution, artificial CSF reduced postoperative brain edema, cerebrovascular permeability, and cellular damage in sites injured by experimental neurosurgery in rats.