Study of the Protective Effects of Dexamethasone on Multiple Organ Injury in Rats with Severe Acute Pancreatitis

Context Pancreas, lung, kidney and liver injury has been proven to play an important role in severe acute pancreatitis. Objective To observe the protective effects of dexamethasone on multiple organs (pancreas, lung, kidney and liver) in rats with severe acute pancreatitis. Animals One hundred and thirty-five Sprague-Dawley rats. Design Ninety rats were prepared as severe acute pancreatitis models and were randomly divided into a control group and the dexamethasone treatment group (45 rats in each group). Another 45 rats were selected to be the sham operation group. Each group was randomly subdivided into 3 subgroups which were observed at 3, 6, and 12 h after surgery (15 rats in each subgroup). Main outcome measures The survival, gross and pathological findings under the light microscope, and the pathological scores of multiple organs in each group were recorded. Results There was no significant difference in survival between the dexamethasone treatment group and the control group (P=0.494). The pancreas pathological score was significantly lower in the dexamethasone treatment group than in the control group at the various time intervals (overall: P<0.001; 3 h: P=0.019; 6 h: P=0.010, 12 h: P<0.001). The lung pathological score was significantly lower in the dexamethasone treatment group than in the control group at 6 and 12 h (P=0.023 and P<0.001, respectively). The kidney (P<0.001) and liver (P=0.009) pathological scores were also significantly lower in the overall dexamethasone treatment group than in the overall control group, but significant differences were found only in some time intervals (kidney: 6 and 12 h, P=0.006 and P=0.044, respectively; liver: 12 h, P=0.046).