On the relevance of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the prevention of paralytic ileus in rodents.

In the mouse, the gastrointestinal transit of a charcoal marker, halved following the intraperitoneal administration of acetic acid, was no longer inhibited after pretreatment with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), indomethacin, ketoprofen, piroxicam or ximoprofen (0.25-2.5 mg kg-1 orally). In the fasted rat, the migrating myoelectric complex pattern of the small intestine which was disrupted for about one hour by acetic acid was unaltered by pretreatment with indomethacin or ximoprofen (0.5 mg kg-1 i.p.). In the anaesthetized rat, the inhibition by about 50% of the gastrointestinal transit due to laparotomy, did not occur following treatment with NSAIDs. It is concluded that NSAIDs prevent the occurrence of chemically-induced and postoperative ileus in rodents, an effect probably related to the analgesic properties of NSAIDs.