Effect of topical rifamycin application on epidural fibrosis in rats

Özet

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effects of topical rifamycin SV application on epidural fibrosis formation in a rat model.Materials and methods: Between March 2015 and April 2015, a total of 20 Wistar rats were equally and randomly divided into laminectomyonly group (control group) and laminectomy and rifamycin SV group (treatment group). Laminectomy was performed between L3-L5 in allrats. Surgical field was irrigated with 1 mL rifamycin SV (1 mL). After four weeks, vertebral columns of the rats were removed en bloc betweenthe L1 and L5 levels, and epidural fibrosis and arachnoid involvement were histopathologically evaluated and graded.Results: Grade 3 epidural fibrosis formation ratio was lower in the treatment group (40%) compared to the control group (80%). However,there was no statistically significant difference between the treatment and control groups in terms of epidural fibrosis (p=0.164) andarachnoid involvement (p=0.303).Conclusion: Intraoperative rifamycin irrigation tends to reduce epidural fibrosis formation risk, although not statistically significant.