Experimental investigation of the healing of bone defects in rivaroxaban administered rats ‐ Preliminary report

Abstract

Background : The majority of the patients treated in dentistry and oral-maxillofacial surgery departments use anticoagulant agents. These patients used to take aspirin, heparin or warfarin-derived drugs. As an alternative to these drugs, new generation oral anticoagulant agents called dabigatran, apixaban, edoxaban and rivaroxaban which have rapid effect and short half-life have been produced. Rivaroxaban is a direct factor Xa inhibitor and is frequently prescribed to patients with cardiovascular disease.Aim/Hypothesis : Bone healing plays a crucial role in success of oral-maxillofacial surgery operations. The aim of this study is to determine positive and negative effects in bone healing due to the use of rivaroxaban which is one of the new generation oral anticoagulant agents.Material and Methods : Adult male Wistar Albino rats ( N = 6), weighing between 250 and 300 g were selected. Rats were divided into two groups as control group and experiment group which is orally rivaroxaban administered. 3 mg rivaroxaban per kg body weight per day was administered to the rats by oral gavage method. In both groups, the longitudinal flap was lifted on the scalp and symmetrically two 5-mm diameter critical size defects were created on the parietal bone in the cranium. 12 bone defects were rinsed with saline and left empty then the flaps were sutured. All rats were sacrificed with overdose anesthesia at postoperative 4th week. The effect of rivaroxaban on bone healing was evaluated by histopathological analysis and new bone formation. Materials and technical feasibility used in this study were provided by