TY - JOUR PY - 2022// TI - Alternative non-oral nutrition in a rat model: a novel modified gastrostomy technique JO - Experimental Animals A1 - Kim, In Gul A1 - Cho, Hana A1 - Choi, Jun Jae A1 - Shin, Jung-Woog A1 - Chung, Eun-Jae SP - 36 EP - 45 VL - 71 IS - 1 N2 - The gastrostomy technique is essential for esophageal reconstruction using a scaffold. To date, there are no established methods to supply nutrients through a gastrostomy tube in rats. The purpose of this study was to analyze the feasibility of a newly modified gastrostomy technique for non-oral nutrition in an adult rat model. We modified the gastrostomy technique for adult rats in a few different ways. (1) The external opening for food injection was made at the midpoint between the ears to prevent damage due to self-harm behaviour. (2) An imbedded subcutaneous tunnel was created between the internal and external openings of the gastrostomy. We compared the efficacy and safety between groups with a T-tube for biliary drainage (TT group, n=14) and a conventional silicone Foley catheter (FC group, n=7) as optimal gastrostomy tubes for in a rat model. We also evaluated the feasibility of the heparin cap connector at the end of gastrostomy tube to control food supply in the TT group (with a cap, n=7; without a cap, n=7). No mortality was observed in the TT group with a cap, whereas most rats in the FC group died within 2 weeks after the procedure. Weight loss decreased significantly in the TT group with a cap compared with all the other groups. The appearance and attitude scores were significantly better in the TT group with a cap. In addition, histologic analysis showed that the TT group a cap showed a marked decrease over time in tissue fibrosis and macrophages compared with the other experimental groups. Therefore, gastrostomy using a silicone T-tube plugged with a cap proved to be a stable and effective option for non-oral feeding in an adult rat model.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1881-7122 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1538/expanim.20-0192 ID - ref1 ER -