Orally and parenterally administered ibuprofen for postoperative adhesion prevention.

Adhesion formation was examined in 45 rats that were divided into five groups of 9 animals each: control, oral ibuprofen, intramuscular ibuprofen, intraperitoneal 32% dextran 70, and oral ibuprofen plus intraperitoneal 32% dextran 70. Four weeks after receiving a standard injury, all the animals were killed and the adhesions scored blindly. Both the oral and intramuscular ibuprofen groups had significantly less severe adhesion formation (P less than .01) when compared to the control group. Although 32% dextran 70 alone showed no beneficial effect in reducing adhesions, the combination of oral ibuprofen and 32% dextran 70 had the least adhesion formation (P less than .002) when compared to the control group. Oral and intramuscular ibuprofen seem to be equally efficient in reducing postoperative adhesions. Furthermore, the combination of oral ibuprofen and 32% dextran 70 appears to have a synergistic effect.