Effect of Combination Low Voltage Electricity and Meropenem to Kill Acinetobacter baumannii

Abstract

Acinetobacter baumannii is a pathogen that have been causing nosocomial infections worldwide, especially in the hospital settings. In 2017, WHO released a priority pathogen list that is in need of new antibiotics, this included Carbapenem-resistent Acinetobacter baumannii. Physical agents are being scouted as alternatives in this post-antibiotic era. Low voltage electricity as a physical agent has been found to be effective to eradicate bacteria and biofilm. This study used a true experimental method, using Acinetobacter baumannii solution with four types of treatment. One only treated with 0.5ml meropenem solution (8 mg/L), one only with low voltage electricity (3 volts for 15 minutes), one with both meropenem and low voltage electricity treatment with the last one being the control. The result of this study was that meropenem alone is not enough to eradicate Acinetobacter baumannii. Instead, the bacterial colony growth of the ones that received the meropenem treatment surpassed the amount of bacterial colony that the control has with -7.19% eradication rate. The one that only received low voltage electricity has 99.76% eradication rate. The one that received both low voltage electricity and meropenem has 100% eradication rate. The conclusion of this study is that the synergy of meropenem and low voltage electricity is effective to eradicate Acinetobacter baumannii. The researchers suggestion for further research is to study more about the potential of low voltage electricity to increase the efficacy of antibiotics. The researcher also suggests for further research to use other types of antibiotics with different mechanism of actions.