• Mete Zeynal and Hakan Hadi Kadıoğlu.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
• Turk J Med Sci. 2022 Oct 1; 52 (5): 159115991591-1599.

BackgroundIn this study, we evaluate sciatic nerve injuries due to intramuscular injections, which is an important medicolegal problem frequently encountered in medical practice, with an extended experimental rat model of peripheral nerve injury.MethodsA total of 78 male Wistar albino rats were divided into five main groups, including a control group, a sham saline group, and groups that received benzathine penicillin G, diclofenac sodium, and dexamethasone, respectively. These pharmaceutical agents were applied to the sciatic nerves of all rats after exploration in the epineurial, endoneurial, and intrafascicular compartments, excluding the control group. Outcomes were evaluated for all rats and their sciatic nerves according to functional, electrophysiological, and histopathological results.ResultsInjuries were most evident in the groups that received penicillin G and diclofenac sodium, and this finding was statistically significant. It was also found that endoneurial and intrafascicular injections may cause more harm than epineurial injections.DiscussionWe have demonstrated that any medical injections applied to the epineurial, endoneurial, or intrafascicular compartments of the sciatic nerve may cause functional and electrophysiological loss with or without deterioration of the peripheral nerve architecture.

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