Dr. Teresa Conner-Kerr
Researcher Dr. Teresa Conner-Kerr, is working to fine tune ultrasound waves to destroy dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria that cause open wound infections that claims lives annually.
Bacteria in open wounds are often treated with antibiotics, according to Conner-Kerr, WSSU Department of Physical Therapy chair in the School of Health Sciences and author of the study. But antibiotic-resistant forms of bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), are emerging as problems in daycares, sports facilities and homes. They are no longer just a problem in hospitals.
Conner-Kerr and her research team found that very low frequency ultrasound at 35 khz kills bacteria, including MRSA, by puncturing and fracturing the bacterial cell walls and altering the cells’ tendencies to grow in colonies. This study measured the effects of ultrasound on bacterial viability, cell wall structure, colony characteristics and antibiotic sensitivity. The study was conducted on in vitro bacteria samples. The study documented that when exposed to 30 seconds of treatment, antibiotic-resistant forms of bacteria dropped from 106 per milliliter to six per milliliter, an approximate 99 percent drop.
“We are happy to report, based on our study, 35 kHz very low frequency ultrasound is more effective at reducing total bacteria cells in vitro than other frequencies of ultrasound. This is encouraging and timely news because standard therapies are failing and the importance of finding alternative approaches to managing these pathogens are becoming increasingly important,” said Conner-Kerr, “but further study is recommended on this potentially effective therapy.”
In the past, one antibiotic medication, methicillin, has been effective in killing open wound bacteria. But increasing cases of MRSA have become a particular concern in the medical community. This study focused on those bacterial strains.
Conner-Kerr and her research team found very low frequency ultrasound alone and in combination with standard antimicrobial compounds may prove to be beneficial and may provide an alternative strategy for not only treating antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including MRSA, but also in reversing its resistance to drugs. The ability to resensitize MRSA to methicillin points to a new way of utilizing older antibiotics that have become ineffective by pairing them with low frequency ultrasound when administered to the wound bed. Because low frequency ultrasound penetrates tissue deeply, the entire wound can be treated.
Multiple studies, including population surveillance studies, have shown that MRSA infections in hospitalized patients are associated with greater lengths of stay, higher mortality, and increased costs. Other studies show MRSA infections of lower extremity wounds are associated with increased lengths of stay and a higher incidence of adverse postsurgical outcomes in hospitalized patients.
