Biomedical properties and hemostatic efficacy of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) based hydrogel in experimental rat liver injury model

Purpose: Bleeding is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the trauma and surgery field, using effective hemostatic agents can help us reduce bleeding especially in parenchymal hemorrhage. Nowadays polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is known as a safe candidate for wound dressing and maybe a hemostatic agent. PVA-based hydrogel is a popular biocompatible material in the biomedical field especially when it has high water absorption. In this study, we investigated the PVA hydrogel’s mechanical and biological properties as well as its hemostatic potential in parenchymal bleeding. Methods: PVA hydrogel had made by the freeze-thawing approach, we used PVA hydrogel in comparison to standard treatment to investigate hemostatic potency. Also, we performed MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide) tests to survey PVA cellular toxicity. After an acute liver injury, two groups of 12 rats were treated with PVA hydrogel or standard treatment with sterile gauze. The results including the time and volume of bleeding, and the time and survival rate of the rats were measured and compared. Results: We saw that PVA hydrogel was safe with no cellular toxicity in the MTT assay. Regarding efficacy, PVA hydrogel increased rats’ survival after bleeding from 75% to 91.7%, and decreased bleeding time ( p: 0.015), and bleeding volume ( p: 0.03) compared to the control group. Conclusion: Polyvinyl alcohol is safe. It has good biological properties with no cellular toxicity and has a significant hemostatic effect and can be regarded in control of parenchymal hemorrhage.