The Role of Anticoagulant, Thrombolytic, and Fibrinolytic Activities in the Prevention of Peritoneal Adhesion

Abstract

Peritoneal adhesion occurs as a result of surgery, peritoneal injury, peritonitis, hypoxia, and ischemia. Surgical trauma causes many pathophysiological processes which include inflammation, oxidation, coagulation, fibrinolysis, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. After intra-abdominal operations, the adhesion tissue may occur on the peritoneal surface due to low fibrinolytic activity. This may result in permanent excessive adhesion tissue bands instead of properly formed fibrin structures. Therefore, anticoagulant, thrombolytic, and fibrinolytic activities have a key role in preventing peritoneal adhesion. Indeed, several studies have been conducted to find out new and effective agents against intra-abdominal adhesion. Thus, revealing the causes, development processes, and investigation techniques are highly important for designing and conducting such scientific studies. In this context, this study aims to summarize the pathophysiological processes of above-mentioned activities and to emphasize their importance in the peritoneal adhesion model as well as to explain the evaluation methods, particularly in terms of the investigation of natural products.