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Effects of Low‐Frequency Ultrasound Applied In Vitro to Highly Antibiotic‐Resistant Acinetobacter Isolates Recovered From Soldiers Returning From Iraq
Author(s) -
Pierson CPT Tony,
Niezgoda Jeffrey A.,
Learmonth LT Sarah,
Blunt CPT Dennis,
McNabb LTC Kevin
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
wound repair and regeneration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.847
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1524-475X
pISSN - 1067-1927
DOI - 10.1111/j.1067-1927.2005.130216at.x
Subject(s) - acinetobacter , microbiology and biotechnology , antibiotics , in vitro , biology , medicine , genetics
Brooke Army Medical Center isolated 25 highly antibiotic‐resistant Acinetobacter ssp . (primarily A. baumannii ) from wounded soldiers returning from Iraq. Concern about effective treatment of these organisms led our institution to begin investigating low‐frequency ultrasound (LFU) as a method of increasing the effectiveness of antibiotics on A.baumannii in wound management. Studies have suggested that LFU applied in conjunction with antibiotics may increase their overall effectiveness. We hypothesize that combining antibiotics with LFU may be an effective method of wound management and that this combination may be synergistic in its overall effect. In this initial work, we wanted to determine if sonocation would have an effect on our organism of interest, A. baumannii . We selected several organisms, both gram positive and gram negative, that have been shown to be killed by sonocation ( E. coli, S. aureus , and S. pyogenes ) and added three highly resistant A. baumannii isolates. Bacterial death was measured by both colony counts after 24 hours of growth and acridine orange staining using a standard protocol. Colony counts were significantly reduced by sonocation. Furthermore, A.'baumannii colony counts were also greatly reduced by sonocation. Actual cell destruction was also visualized using acridine orange staining. Our data support the assertion that sonocation has an antibacterial effect on some bacteria, including A. baumannii . Our next step is to add antimicrobial agents and determine if their effectiveness can be increased by sonocation.