Use of the TRPV1 Agonist Capsaicin to Provide Long-Term Analgesia in a Rat Limb Fracture/Open Repair, Internal Fixation Model.

摘要

Traumatic orthopedic injuries comprise a large portion of the injuries that are seen in our military servicemen in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Previous to this study there had been only one animal model for acute long bone fracture pain described. This model was useful in studying fracture pain by itself, but due to the method of fracture stabilization, the model did not follow real-world circumstance for injury followed by repair. During this period of research we have successfully developed and tested a novel rat pain model for acute traumatic femoral fracture followed by repair via intramedullary nail fixation that closely mimics what happens in real-world situations. Our model is consistent and reproducible and will help facilitate the discovery and evaluation of novel pain relief techniques that could benefit care of our wounded warriors as well as civilian traumatic injuries. Using our model, we could not show an pain relief benefit of injecting capsaicin around the fracture site.