Evaluation of the Antibacterial Activity of Herbal Dhoopa against Selected Bacterial Species through Two Different Methods

Antibiotic Soaked Hydrophilic Coated Bioflex: A New Strategy in the Prevention of Penile Prosthesis Infection

The choice of the ideal antiseptic is not only based on its efficacy but also on safety and skin-friendliness. There are no standard recommendations regarding ideal skin preparation in neonates. This was a prospective cohort study to evaluate the efficacy of 3 antiseptics[10% Povidone Iodine(PI), 70% isopropyl alcohol(AL), 2% chlorhexidine in 70% alcohol(CHG-IPA)] in disinfecting the skin before venipuncture in term neonates as assessed by logarithmic reduction in skin bacterial colony counts post-application. Secondary objectives were to assess the changes in skin condition. Measurements were done pre-, post-antiseptic and 6-24 h (for residual effect) later. Fifty neonates were enrolled in each group. All three antiseptics caused a significant reduction in bacterial load post-application, but maximal efficacy [2.6(2.2-2.8)log reduction] and, maximal residual effect at 6-24 h was seen with CHG-IPA [2.4(2.2-2.6)log reduction]. The logarithmic reduction in colony counts from pre-intervention to 6-24 h later remained significant for all three groups [(PI, p-0.039; CHG-IPA, p-0.00; AL, p - 0.01)]. After an initial alteration in hydration, and skin condition score, there was a return to baseline after 6-24 h. 2% CHG-IPA had better efficacy than AL or PI for skin antisepsis in term neonates. There was no significant change in skin integrity in all three groups. All three antiseptics [2% chlorhexidine gluconate in 70% isopropyl alcohol(CHG + IPA), 10% Povidone Iodine(PI), and 70% isopropyl alcohol(AL)] cause significant reduction in bacterial colony counts. CHG + IPA has the maximum efficacy as assessed by log reduction of bacterial colony counts with optimal residual effect favouring its usage in term neonates. The least efficacy is seen with 70% isopropyl alcohol. All three antiseptics are skin-friendly and do not affect the skin integrity. Future studies addressing the clinical outcomes and safety in preterm populations with these commonly used antiseptics should be done.

Greater care and a more thorough approach to intravenous catheter site disinfection may be important for the prevention of catheter related sepsis, especially with coagulase negative staphylocci in preterm infants. The efficacy of skin disinfection was evaluated in preterm infants using a skin swabbing technique after disinfectant exposure. In the first part of the study, 25 peripheral intravascular catheter sites were quantitatively sampled immediately after routine cannula insertion. Bacterial counts greater than 100 colony forming units/cm2 were observed from 10 (40%) sites. In the second part, sampling for bacterial colony counts was done after skin cleansing with various durations of exposure of chlorhexidine/alcohol swabs or povidone iodine. The overall mean reduction in bacterial colony counts after skin cleansing ranged from 90-99%. Skin sterilisation was achieved in 33-92% of cases. The use of two consecutive 10 second exposures resulted in a significantly improved reduction in colony counts compared with a single 10 second wipe. A longer 30 second exposure also resulted in a greater reduction of bacterial numbers compared with a shorter duration of 5 or 10 seconds. Repopulation of disinfected sites occurred within 48 hours. This effect was delayed by occluding the cleansed site with a semipermeable dressing. There were no significant differences between povidone iodine and the chlorhexidine swabs in reducing bacterial numbers. This study has demonstrated that a brief exposure with a premoistened disinfectant swab is not sufficient for complete elimination of resident skin flora of newborn infants. The use of two consecutive cleanings, or a longer duration of cleansing is recommended for more effective skin sterilisation.

Purpose: There is limited work analyzing the efficacy of different antiseptics in reducing wound contamination by the skin flora during hernia repair and its influence on the incidence of wound infection, which continues to be a major problem in the developing world. This study was designed to test if chlorhexidine-ethanol has superior antimicrobial efficacy compared with povidone-iodine. Methods: In a prospective randomized trial, the efficacy of chlorhexidine-ethanol and povidone-iodine in the reduction of colony counts of the skin flora and the incidence of surgical site infection was compared. Results: Both povidone-iodine and chlorhexidine-ethanol produced significant reduction in the skin bacterial colony counts, from 18.66 × 10² to 2.34 × 10² colony-forming units with povidone-iodine (59%) and from 12.34 × 10² to 0.93 × 10² colony-forming units (82%) with chlorhexidine-ethanol. Infection rates with the use of povidone-iodine and chlorhexidine-ethanol groups were not significantly different (9.5 vs. 7.0; p = 0.364). The reduction in colony counts in those who developed infection was only 15.6% compared with 77.1% in those who did not develop infection. Conclusions: The antibacterial efficacy of chlorhexidine-ethanol and povidone-iodine is comparable in open hernia repair.

Introduction Besides the survival rate of restorations, the effect of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) on bacterial count is also important. After ART restoration, the bacterial count drops due to the fluoride's antibacterial activity and hence it can decrease the chances of further decay. The present studyassessed salivary mutans streptococci counts for six months of evaluations subsequent to ARTamong 12-15-year-old children attending schools in Piparia village, Vadodara district. Methods ART was performed on 32 children and followed up after six months to evaluate the success rate of ART. Saliva collection and microbial analysis were performed five times from every participant, before ART restoration placement, seven days, 30 days (one month), 90 days (three months) and 180 days (six months) post-restoration. Results At baseline, the mean colony forming units (CFU) was 48.30 ± 46.58, which reduced to 32.64 ± 30.40 at one week, which showed a 32% reduction in colony counts. This further reduced to 18.60 ± 20.81 at one month, marking a further 43% reduction in colony counts. This again reduced to 13.63 ± 18.04 at three months, which showed a 27% reduction in colony counts. CFU came to 16.23 ± 23.34 at six months, which showed a 19% increase in colony counts. Comparison of baseline mean CFU (48.30 ± 46.58) to six months mean CFU of streptococcus mutans (SM) (16.23 ± 23.34) showed a 66% reduction in colony counts. A statistically significant difference was found between numerous intervals of time of CFU of streptococcus mutans. Conclusion The findings reveal that ART is a clinical treatment that can be used to treat caries in young children, and it helped significantly reduce Streptococcus Mutans levels in saliva.

Purpose: The current in-vitro study aims to compare the effectiveness of various mechanical decontamination modalities in the elimination of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm from titanium surfaces using qualitative and quantitative techniques. Materials and methods: A total of 48 titanium discs were inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus and randomly allocated into four experimental groups consisting of control, plastic curettes (PC), ultrasonic-driven plastic tips (UPT), and ultrasonic-driven stainless-steel tips (UST). Following decontamination procedures, colony-forming units and viable biomass were analyzed to identify the biofilm removal efficacy of the treatments and the viability of bacteria remaining on the surface. Biofilm structure was assessed by confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Analysis of variance and post hoc Tukey tests were applied for comparisons. Results: Reductions in both colony counts and variable biomass following the decontamination procedure were significant in all treatment groups (p=0,000). Although the highest reduction in colony count was determined in the UST and the lowest in the PC group, the difference was not statistically significant between treatment groups (p = 0.246). Nonetheless, the reduction in viable biomass in the UST group was greater than in the UPT and PC groups (p=0.005, p=0.000, respectively). Conclusion: Ultrasonic-driven instruments are more effective than plastic curettes in removing the biofilm that colonizes the titanium surfaces in the initial stages. Stainless steel tips provide better elimination of microbial biofilm compared to plastic instruments, but they alter the surface topography of roughed titanium surfaces more than plastic curettes.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria are important respiratory pathogens in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). For diagnosis, international guidelines recommend culture of sputum that has been decontaminated via chemical treatment. Fifty-six sputum samples from 32 patients known to be previously colonized or infected with NTM were subdivided, and the aliquots were subjected to six different decontamination strategies, followed by quantitative culture for NTM. Thirty sputum samples contained Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABSC) and 11 contained Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). Decontamination strategies included treatment with N-acetyl L-cysteine with 2% sodium hydroxide (NALC-NaOH), 4% NaOH, 1% chlorhexidine, 0.5 N sulfuric acid, 5% oxalic acid, double decontamination with NALC-NaOH, followed by 5% oxalic acid, and saline (0.85%) as a control. The samples were also cultured directly with no treatment. Treatment with NALC-NaOH resulted in an average reduction in colony count of 87% for MABSC when compared with direct culture. NaOH at 4% caused a 98.3% average reduction in colony count. All treatments that included NaOH resulted in colony counts that were statistically lower than those obtained from direct culture or the saline-treated control (p < 0.05). Standard treatments using sulfuric or oxalic acids were less deleterious, but still resulted in an average reduction in colony count of at least 30%. The viability of MAC was much less affected by most decontamination treatments. In conclusion, the viability of MABSC was severely compromised by standard decontamination regimens. This supports recent evidence showing that optimal recovery of MABSC is achieved by culture on an appropriate selective agar without decontamination of sputum samples.

Background Emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria in current times demands for concerted efforts, specifically in developing countries to replace the administration of antibiotics with other therapeutic modalities as photodynamic inactivation using red light emitting diodes. Aim Isolate and identify pathogenic bacteria from superficial skin infections, determine antibiotic susceptibility of isolated bacteria and to evaluate antibacterial role of red light emitting diodes on multi-drug resistant isolates using different durations. Patients and methods Fifty patients with superficial skin infection were enrolled in the present study. Isolation and identification were carried out by standard microbiological methods. Antibacterial susceptibility tests of the isolates were assessed by disc diffusion method. The multi-drug resistant isolates were illuminated by red light emitting diodes for different durations at 10, 20, 30 and 60 min Then antibacterial effect was assessed by colony count. Results Illumination with red light emitting diodes showed antibacterial effect in all isolates with variable degrees. There were initial reduction in colony count after 10 min followed by a slight increase in colony count with increasing the duration of illumination. Staphylococcus aureus isolates showed the lowest reduction in log10CFU/ml-1 with mean±SD of 5.14 ± 0.06 after 10 min. Conclusion The photodynamic inactivation using red light emitting diodes showed significant reduction in colony count when multi-drug-resistant isolates were illuminated for 10 min suggesting its potential for use as antibacterial therapeutic modality.

Clinical and cost effectiveness of eight disinfection methods for terminal disinfection of hospital isolation rooms contaminated with Clostridium difficile 027

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) with curcumin and riboflavin on three-week Enterococcus faecalis biofilm. At first the 15-mm root canals of 65 single rooted extracted human teeth (including maxillary incisors, mandibular and maxillary canines and mandibular premolars) were separated from the crown and were prepared with ProTaper instruments. After autoclave sterilisation, samples were inoculated with E. faecalis suspension, and incubated for three weeks. After ensuring biofilm formation by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in two teeth, the remaining 63 teeth were randomly divided into seven groups (n = 9): aPDT + curcumin, aPDT + riboflavin, LED, curcumin, riboflavin, 5.25% NaOCl (positive control) and no intervention (negative control). For light source a LED unit with 390-480 nm wavelength (peak of 460 nm), power density of 1000 ± 100 mW cm-2 and mean energy density of 60 J cm-2 was used. The roots were horizontally sectioned into coronal, middle and apical thirds each with 5 mm thicknesses. Dentin chips with equal weight (1 ± 0.005 g) were collected from the root canal walls with Gates Glidden drills and were transferred into microtubes containing 1 mL of sterile saline and vortexed for 30 s. Next, 10 µL of the contents of each tube was serially diluted and eventually, 10 µL of each solution was cultured on BHI agar. The number of colony-forming units was determined. Data were analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Friedman tests. The colony reduction was not significantly different between NaOCl and either riboflavin + LED or Curcumin + LED. The 5.25% NaOCl group showed maximum reduction in colony count, compared with the negative control (P = 0.00). Groups with aPDT with Curcumin + LED (P = 0.005), and with riboflavin + LED (P = 0.011) showed significant reduction in colony count in all three canal thirds (P < 0.05) without any difference with one another. With significant reduction of E. faecalis colony count, aPDT with Curcumin and riboflavin can serve as an adjunct to routine root canal disinfection method.

This study investigates the antibacterial effects of erbium chromium laser at 2780 nm, silver nanoparticles, and erbium chromium along with silver nanoparticles on Enterococcus faecalis in comparison with sodium hypochlorite. In the present study, 90 extracted human single-rooted teeth were selected and standardized to a length of 15 mm. The canals were prepared by V-taper Gold rotary files and then incubated with E. faecalis for 21 days. The samples were divided into four experimental groups including hypochlorite sodium, silver nanoparticle, erbium chromium laser, and erbium chromium laser along with silver nanoparticle groups. Results showed that there was a significant reduction in colony count for all groups after interventions. Moreover, there was a significant reduction in the colony count for sodium hypochlorite group in comparison with another groups, and this group showed the highest reduction of colony count. There was a significant difference between silver nanoparticles and erbium chromium laser groups in colony count. According to the results, the silver nanoparticles offered strong antibacterial effects on E. faecalis and therefore can decrease bacterial colonies, while the use of the laser, despite the reduction of the bacterial colony, could not be sufficiently used for disinfection of root canal system.

Entrococcus faecalis Elimination in Root Canals Using Silver Nanoparticles, Photodynamic Therapy, Diode Laser, or Laser-activated Nanoparticles: An In Vitro Study

PurposeCommunity-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections are increasing. Although gentamicin (GEN) is usually susceptible against CA-MRSA, GEN is rarely considered for treatment as monotherapy. We employed an in vitro pharmacodynamic model (IVPDM) to compare efficacies of GEN against CA-MRSA with two dosing regimens [thrice-daily (TD), once-daily (OD)].Materials and MethodsUsing two strains of CA-MRSA, we adopted IVPDM comprised of two-compartments with a surface-to-volume ratio of 5.34 cm-1. GEN regimens were simulated with human pharmacokinetic data of TD and OD. Experiments were performed over 48 hours in triplicate for each strain and dosing regimen.ResultsMICs of GEN for YSSA1 and YSSA15 were 1 and 2 mg/L, respectively. In OD, indices of peak/MIC were > 8.6 at least, in contrast to < 6.4 in TD. A ≥ 3-log10 reduction in CFU/mL was demonstrated prior to 4 hours in TD and OD, and continued until 8 hours for both strains. However, reductions in the colony counts at 24 and 48 hours were significantly larger for OD compared to TD in both strains (p < 0.001). During TD, resistance developed in YSSA1 and small colony variants (SCVs) were documented in YSSA15. No resistance or SCVs were observed during OD in both strains.ConclusionTD and OD showed the same killing slopes until 8 hours. After the 24 hours of experiments, OD of GEN would be advantageous not only in having more reductions in colony counts, but also suppressing the development of resistance or SCVs for 48 hours.

Editar: CAPD peritonitis, despite recent advances, re mains a major source of patient morbidity. While many factors contribute to this problem (1,2), the actual growth characteristics of clinically relevant microorganisms might be expected to playa role. To that end, we have studied the in vitra growth characteristics of clinical isolates of Staphylacaccus epidermidis, E. cali, and Pseudamanas aeruginasa in 1.5%, 2.5%, and 4.25% dextrose dialysate fluid. Colonies of the organism were grown on 5% sheep blood agar plates (BAP:BBL, Becton Dickinson Microbiology Systems, Rutherford, NJ) overnight at 35°C. Sufficient quantities of the colonies were suspended in 10 mL normal saline to produce suspensions containing approximately 105 colony-forming units per mL (CFU/mL). The suspensions were inoculated into 200-mL aliquots of the dialysate solutions (Dianeal PD-1, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Deerfield, IL). The dialysate solutions contained 132 mEq/ L sodium. 3.5 mEq/L calcium, 1.5 mEq/L magnesium, 102 mEq/L chloride and 35 mEq/L of lactate, and 1.5%, 2.5%, or 4.25% dextrose. Each organism and dialysate combination was incubated at 4°C, room temperature (21°C), or 35°C. Twenty microliter volumes at 0, 2, 4, 6, and 24 hours were plated in triplicate onto BAP and incubated at 35°C. The resultant colonies were counted and the mean±SD CFU/mL was determined for each time, temperature, and organism. At 4°C and 21°C regardless of glucose concentration, growth of all organisms appeared to be stagnant with no changes in concentration up to 24 hours. At 35°C, all three organisms exhibited a reduction in colony counts by 24 hours in each dialysate. Figure I represents the observed reduction in colony counts by 24 hours for all organisms and dialysates. Thus changes in medium characteristics (medium osmolalities between 350 mOsm/kg and 510 mOsm/ kg) appear to have little effect on microorganism growth. The ability to recover organisms from inoculated bags for up to 24 hours suggests that early cultures may not be the critical step in microorganism identification. Perhaps the presence of hostproduced inflammatory responses is the factor which significantly alters recovery of organisms in clinical specimens stored outside the body for several hours (3).

This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of 810-nm diode laser on the root canals infected with Enterococcus faecalis biofilm-like structure by using comparable and safe parameters. The root canals of 52 extracted human single-rooted teeth were prepared, 4 teeth allocated as negative control and 48 teeth inoculated with E. faecalis for 3 weeks. The teeth were then randomly divided into the following 4 experimental groups: Group NaOCl (n = 12), 17% EDTA + 5.25% NaOCl + saline; Group DL1 (n = 12), 17% EDTA + 1 W diode laser + saline; Group DL2 (n = 12), 17% EDTA + 1.5 W diode laser + saline; Group S (n = 12), Saline. Samples were obtained from dentin chips before and after the interventions. A reduction in colony count was assessed by counting the colony-forming units. Compared to the control group, significant reductions were noted in E. faecalis colony counts in all groups (p .05). The greatest reduction in colony count (98.9%) was noted in the Group NaOCl. The difference in this respect between the Group DL2 and Group S (p .05). Our results demonstrated two different parameters of 810-nm diode laser showing the significant antibacterial effect on E. faecalis biofilm but it was not as effective as NaOCl irrigation.