Abstract
Objective: Biofilms have been increasingly implicated as an underlying factor in refractory chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). This study researches the efficacy of a combination of hydrodynamic therapy and laser in disrupting bacterial biofilms.
Method: Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were cultured and divided into 3 groups. Group 1 was the control group, Group 2 was treated with saline delivered with hydrodynamic force, and Group 3 was treated with both hydrodynamic force and a near infrared diode laser.
Results: For both the bacterial species, the use of laser augmented the reduction of Colony Forming Units obtained with hydrodynamic shearing, with an additional reduction in CFUs counts ranging from 0.94-2.18 logs and 0.68-1.15 logs for P Aeroginosa and S Aureus respectively. The overall log reduction obtained by combined modality treatment ranged from 4.57-5.06 for P Aeroginosa and 3.55-3.67 for S Aureus; both of these were statistically significant (P < .005).
Conclusion: A combination of hydrodynamic therapy and laser produces superior results in disrupting biofilm in in vitro models, and further studies of this combined modality treatment are warranted in living tissues and animal models.
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