The quantitative and qualitative impairment of wound healing by adriamycin.

Clinical impression suggests that Adriamycin (ADR) interferes with wound healing. To examine the effects of ADR on wound healing, male Fischer rats were subjected to a dorsal, midline, full-thickness longitudinal incision (day 0). Wound clips were removed on day +7. Twenty animals per group were given intravenous ADR on day -7, day 0, day +3 and day +7. Twenty animals served as non-treated, wounded controls (C). Five animals/group were sacrificed on days +7, +14 and +21, at which time two 9.5 mm wide strips were taken from each animal perpendicular to the wound axis and submitted for wound breaking strength (WBS) measurements and load-extension curve analysis. WBS differed most markedly at Day 21 between C(1671 +/- 59g) and ADR day -7(1360 + 71 g) p less than 0.01; C and ADR day 0 (1051 +/- 108 g) p less than 0.001; C and ADR day + 3(1134 +/- 176 g) p less than 0.02. No difference existed between C and day +7 (1790 +/- 153 g). A point of inflection always occurred between 55-60% elongation in ADR treated animals only. This portion of the curve has been previously shown to represent collagen content. It is concluded that perioperative ADR administration (day -7 through day +3) significantly and substantially impairs skin wound healing in the rat. A form of collagen yielding underlies and may contribute to this defect.