Effect of ferric sulfate and ferric chloride in controlling liver bleeding; an animal model study

Introduction: Controlling parenchymal hemorrhage, especially in liver, is still one of the challenges surgeons face with when they try to save the patients' lives despite improvements in surgical procedures. There is a research contest between the researchers in this field to introduce more effective methods. This study aimed to compare the hemostatic effect of ferric sulfate and ferric chloride on controlling the bleeding from liver parenchymal tissue. Methods: In this animal model study 70 male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into seven groups. An incision, 2 cm long and 0.5 cm deep, was made on each rat's liver, and the hemostasis time was measured with different concentrations (15%, 25%, and 50%) of either ferric sulfate or ferric chloride compared with the control method (i.e. by simple suturing). The liver tissue was examined for pathological changes after one week. The obtained data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests in the SPSS software. Results: We found complete hemostasis in all groups. The hemostasis times of different concentrations of ferric sulfate and ferric chloride were significantly less than that of the control group (P value<0.01). Ferric sulfate showed statistically significant faster hemostasis at different concentrations compared with ferric chloride (P value<0.01). Conclusion: Ferric sulfate and ferric chloride need less time to control liver bleeding compared to the control method (i.e. by sutures). Ferric sulfate is a more effective hemostatic agent than ferric chloride in controlling hepatic bleeding in an animal model.