| Sumario: | Aims To compare the effectiveness of distilled water (aquadest) and 0.9% sodium chloride (NaCl) in promoting wound healing, based on wound diameter, re-epithelialisation, granulation formation, neovascularisation and inflammatory response. Methods An in vivo experimental study was conducted using 27 male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus), randomly assigned into three groups (control, aquadest, and NaCl). Full-thickness wounds were created on the dorsum of each rat and treated daily for 14 days. On days 2, 7 and 14, the wounds were assessed macroscopically and histologically, quantitively and semi-qualitatively. Statistical analysis included Friedman and Wilcoxon tests, along with effect size calculations (Cohen's d and 95% confidence intervals). Results Aquadest significantly improved reepithelialisation (p=0.018), granulation tissue formation (p=0.022), and reduced inflammation (p= 0.039) compared to baseline. NaCl did not demonstrate statistically significant improvements across any parameter. Although wound diameter reduction in the aquadest group was not statistically significant (p=0.117), it showed a moderate-to-large effect size (d=0.78), with qualitative analysis showing the reduction of inflammatory cells and increase of neovascular count and epithelial thickness (p=0.040). Conclusions Distilled water showed superior performance to 0.9% NaCl in supporting multiple aspects of wound healing in a rat model.
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