Effect of prednisolone on ascending renal infection due to biofilm disease and lower urinary tract obstruction in rats

A model of renal infection due to lower urinary tract obstruction and biofilm disease was constructed for the study of renal scarring by inserting glass beads coated with bacterial biofilm into the bladder of rats and then clamping the urethra. We previously reported the effect of antimicrobial therapy used in combination with the anti-inflammatory agent prednisolone to prevent renal scarring. In this study we investigated the effect of prednisolone on renal scar formation using our new model. Renal scarring could not be prevented in the group in which prednisolone was administered in the period during which the urethra was regularly being clamped. In contrast, scarring was prevented in the group that began to receive prednisolone after the period of clamping had ended. Therefore, in cases of lower urinary tract obstruction prednisolone should only be administered for the prevention of renal scarrring after the obstruction has been resolved.