Introduction: Crush injury is a type of tissue damage caused by external pressure on a part of the body, commonly seen in natural disasters, traffic accidents, and other scenarios. The severity of the injury is closely linked to patient prognosis, making the establishment of appropriate animal models crucial for crush injury research. Methods: Bama miniature pigs were randomly assigned to three groups, subjected to a 10-fold body weight pressure on the hindlimb muscles. The duration of compression was controlled to simulate mild, moderate, and severe crush injuries. Ultrasound imaging assessments were performed before compression and at 0, 4, 24, and 72 hours post-decompression. Blood samples were collected at each time point for biochemical analysis. At the study’s conclusion, muscle tissue from the compressed areas was collected for histopathology. Results: Ultrasound imaging showed that in the mild group, muscle echogenicity was slightly increased with mild structural disruption; in the moderate group, echogenicity was enhanced, with ground-glass changes; in the severe group, muscle echogenicity was chaotic, with a mesh-like hypoechoic pattern and edema in the fat layer. Biochemical analysis revealed a trend of initial elevation followed by a decline in CK, CK-MB, and potassium (K) levels within groups. Intergroup comparison showed a progressive increase in these markers with the severity of injury, especially in the severe injury group, which exhibited the highest levels. Histopathological analysis showed widespread muscle necrosis, vascular rupture, and inflammatory cell infiltration in the severe injury group, while mild and moderate groups primarily exhibited cellular edema and localized inflammation. Conclusion: This study successfully established a Bama miniature pig model of crush injury with varying severity, and the model’s validity was confirmed through imaging, biochemical, and histopathological evaluations. These findings provide a valuable experimental foundation for further research into clinical diagnosis, prognostic assessment, and therapeutic strategies for crush injuries.
Li et al. (Sun,) studied this question.