Antiadhesion gel for use after laparoscopy passes first test. (Small, Short-Term Pilot Study).

RANCHO MIRAGE, -- An experimental gel designed to reduce adhesions after laparoscopic surgery appeared to be safe and showed trends toward efficacy in a small, short-term pilot study, Dr. Michael P. Diamond said at the annual meeting of the Pacific Coast Reproductive Society.

Investigators in the multicenter, placebo-controlled trial randomized 34 patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery to receive either N,O-carboxymethylchitosan (NOCC) gel and solution in the operative field after surgery or 300 cc of Ringer's lactate solution as a control. The NOCC was applied first as 200 cc of a 1% NOCC gel that was tamped into place, followed by 100 cc of a 2% NOCC solution, said Dr. Diamond of Wayne State University, Detroit.

There were no deaths or serious adverse events in either group and no significant differences between groups in rates of adverse events, including abdominal pain and suture pain, he added.

Evaluations of adhesions by a reviewer blinded to the treatment arms during a second-look laparoscopy 2-10 weeks ...