Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
10692273 Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology 2005 5 Pages PDF
Abstract
Despite considerable knowledge about effects of extracorporeal shock-wave therapy (ESWT) on eukaryotic tissues, only little data are available concerning their effect on prokaryotic microorganisms. The objective of the present study was to determine the bactericidal activity as a function of energy flux density and shock-wave impulse number. Standardised suspensions of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 were exposed to different impulse numbers of shock waves with an energy flux density (ED) up to 0.96 mJ mm−2 (2 Hz). Subsequently, viable bacteria were quantified by culture and compared with an untreated control. After applying 4000 impulses, a significant bactericidal effect was observed with a threshold ED of 0.59 mJ mm−2 (p < 0 · 05). A threshold impulse number of more than 1000 impulses was necessary to reduce bacterial growth (p < 0 · 05). Further elevation of energy and impulse number exponentially increased bacterial killing. ESWT proved to exert significant antibacterial effect in an energy-dependent manner. Certain types of difficult-to-treat infections could offer new applications for ESWT. (E-mail: Gerdesmeyer@aol.com)
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Physics and Astronomy Acoustics and Ultrasonics
Authors
, , , , , , ,