Effect of Fibrinolytic Agents and Corticosteroid Hormones on Peritoneal Adhesions

Assuming that peritoneal adhesions result from the organization of an exudate between opposed peritoneal surfaces, their prevention may be approached either by attempts to destroy the deposited fibrin or by inhibiting its organization into connective tissue. For the former, activators of fibrinolytic enzymes have been used in experimental animals and have been shown to have an inhibitory effect on the development of peritoneal adhesions.¹⁻³In a previously published experiment by one of us²the results suggested that streptokinase-streptodornase (SK-SD) exerted its effect before morphological reactions were histologically visible. For the latter, cortical steroids have been widely used in experimental animals and have been shown to have a favorable effect in inhibiting the formation of peritoneal adhesions.⁴⁻⁶ The present experiment was initiated in order to study the quantitative and qualitative effects of these different substances on talc-induced intraperitoneal adhesions and granulomas. Because of the wide variety of experimental