Background: The purpose of our study was to examine the role of cobalt-albumin binding assay (CABA) for the early diagnosis of abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS).
Methods: Twenty-four anesthetized and ventilated rabbits were randomly assigned to four groups as 1 to 4, with each group comprised of six animals. Intraabdominal hypertension of 25 mmHg was induced for 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes by insufflation in the four groups, respectively. Five ml of blood was drawn from each animal before the animals were sacrificed. A CABA test was performed on the samples and results were compared with pathologic diagnosis of intestinal samples shown as a score of damage severity values.
Results: Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) in Group 4 was significantly higher than in Group 1 and Group 2 (0.65 ± 0.16, 0.60 ± 0.25 and 0.61 ± 0.14, respectively; p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the IMA of Group 3 and Group 4. Score of damage severity values reached statistically significant levels in Group 4 compared with Group 1 and Group 2 (p < 0.004 and 0.006, respectively) and in Group 3 compared with Group 1 (p < 0.004). There was also a statistically significant difference between Groups 1 and 2 (p < 0.004).
Conclusion: CABA plays an important role in the early diagnosis of ACS at the beginning of intestinal ischemia.