Comparison of methods for the determination of viability of ischemic rabbit intestine

Accurate evaluation of bowel viability and anastomotic healing remains a common problem confronting the surgeon. A rabbit model was established to compare the accuracy of standard clinical criteria (SCC), intravenous fluorescein (FLF), laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF), and pulse oximetry (POX) in determining bowel viability. The diagnostic efficiency of SCC was 73%, of POX 68%, of FLF 78%, and of LDF 95%. The latter two techniques are simple, rapid, and more accurate than SCC and POX, and may be best suited for the intraoperative assessment of clinically ischemic intestine. Correspondence to: X. P. Liao