The Effect of Tetracycline in Degradation and Permeability of Collagen Membrane
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
1969-12-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the histological impact of treatment with
tetracycline (TTC) solution of two layers collagen membranes (CMs) bio-degradation, in ridge
preservation technique (RPT). Additionally, secondary objectives were to evaluate the effect
of TTC on bacterial colonization and inflammatory response. This is a randomized simple-blind
clinical trial. Consecutive patients referred to the Department of Periodontology at
Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain), between November 2009 and April
2011, were included in the study. This study was based on data collected from 20 surgical
sites in 10 systemically healthy patients requiring 2 extractions with SPT. Before starting
the surgery, the two teeth of each selected patient were randomized in two groups. The test
group underwent RPT with CMs embedded with TTC solution (CMs TTC), and the control group was
performed without TTC solution (CMs NO TTC). Randomization was performed using SPSS software
(version 18, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). In the test group, both membranes were first
dipped for 5 minutes in TTC solution (50 mg/ml). This involved the use of 250 mg tablets of
TTC and 5 ml of saline that were mixed in a sterile trough. A sample of the membrane used in
each SPT was retained as a negative control sample. The membrane sample was retrieved 7 days
after initial surgery. At 14 days the suture was removed and a new control was performed
within 1 month. A sample from the negative control, test and control group was analyzed from
each patient. The specimens were fixed in a 10% formalin solution, dehydrated in a series of
alcohols, embedded in paraffin, and sectioned in 4-5μ. The sections were stained with
hematoxylin and eosin and examined with an Olympus BH-2 optical microscope. The stained
sections were photographed with a digital camera mounted on an optical microscope at
magnification (x100, x200 and x400). According to the findings of the present study, we can
conclude that CMs exhibit rapid degradation when exposed to the oral environment.
Histological interpretation suggests that CMs immersed in 50mg/ml TTC solution delay the CM
degradation when exposed to the oral environment. Statistical evaluation did not show any
difference in bacterial colonization and inflammatory response, but the findings may also be
affected by the limited sample size.
The limits of the present study are the absence of histomorphometric analysis, the sample
size, and the lack of a long-term evaluation with clinical evidence of the advantages of this
technique. More clinical studies in humans are require to confirm the effect of TTC in CMs
degradation before we can make recommendations.