Hypertonic saline resuscitation reduces apoptosis of intestinal mucosa in a rat model of hemorrhagic shock

Objective: To investigate the early effects of hypertonic and isotonic saline solutions on apoptosis of intestinal mucosa in rats with hemorrhagic shock. Methods: A model of rat with severe hemorrhagic shock was established in 21 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The rats were randomly divided into the sham group, normal saline resuscitation (NS) group, and hypertonic saline resuscitation (HTS) group, with 7 in each group. We detected and compared the apoptosis in small intestinal mucosa of rats after hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL), FITC (fluorescein-iso-thiocyanate)-Annexin V/PI (propidium iodide) double staining method, and flow cytometry. Results: In the early stage of hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation, marked apoptosis of small intestinal mucosa in the rats of both NS and HTS groups was observed. The numbers of apoptotic cells in these two groups were significantly greater than that in the sham group (P < 0.01). In the HTS group, the apoptic cells significantly decreased, compared with the NS group (P < 0.01). Conclusion: In this rat model of severe hemorrhagic shock, the HTS resuscitation of small volume is more effective than the NS resuscitation in reducing apoptosis of intestinal mucosa in rats, which may improve the prognosis of trauma.