Evaluation of Wound Healing Effect of Topical Phenytoin on Excisional Wound in Albino Rats

OBJECTIVES Wound healing is a significant healthcare problem in today's medical practice. Despite extensive treatment modalities that are supposed to hasten the wound healing process, the outcomes of existing methods are far from optimal. One such agent that has been tried previously and found controversial in wound healing is phenytoin. In this study, the wound-healing efficacy of phenytoin was investigated in albino rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS 20 male Wistar albino rats were subjected to excisional wounds measuring 500 mm(2) on the back and then randomized to two groups (n = 10): Control group (A) and treatment group (B). The control group received no drug treatment till the end of the study. 1% Phenytoin cream was applied to the wounds of rats in the group B and continued till the 16(th) day of the study. The areas of wounds were measured on the Days 4, 8, 12, and 16 of the experiment. The percentages of the healing wounds were calculated by Walker formula after measurement of the wound area. The total number of days required for complete epithelization of wounds was noted in each group. RESULTS Statistically significant reduction (P < 0.05) in average wound area was seen in Group B (P value=0.0017, 0.0001, 0.0001, 0.0001), respectively, on Days 4, 8, 12, and 16 of the experiment in comparison to Group A. The average number of days required for complete epithelization of wound area was less in Group B as compared to Group A (P=0.0120). The difference was statically significant CONCLUSION In the present study, topical phenytoin accelerated healing of excisional wound in albino rats.