Innovative cold atmospheric plasma (iCAP) decreases corneal ulcer formation and bacterial loads and improves anterior chamber health in methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus keratitis

Bacterial keratitis is a vision-threatening infection of the cornea that is typically treated with antibiotics. However, antibiotics sometimes fail to eradicate the infection and do not prevent or repair the damage caused directly by the bacteria or the host immune response to the infection. Our gro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Experimental eye research 2023-12, Vol.237, p.109692-109692, Article 109692
Main Authors: Carr, Mary A., Marquart, Mary E., Sanchez, Miguel, Saleem, Waqar, Wellington, Ocean I., Lovell, K. Michael, McCallister, Aaliyah, Lightfoot, Victoria, Ost, Evan B., Wise, Hua Z., Huang, Bo, Sharma, Anjal C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Antimicrobial
Bacterial Load
Cold atmospheric plasma
Corneal Ulcer - drug therapy
Corneal Ulcer - microbiology
Eye Infections, Bacterial - drug therapy
Eye Infections, Bacterial - microbiology
Eye Infections, Bacterial - prevention & control
Keratitis
Keratitis - drug therapy
Keratitis - microbiology
Keratitis - prevention & control
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
MRSA
Rabbits
Staphylococcal Infections - drug therapy
Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology
Staphylococcus aureus
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Summary:Bacterial keratitis is a vision-threatening infection of the cornea that is typically treated with antibiotics. However, antibiotics sometimes fail to eradicate the infection and do not prevent or repair the damage caused directly by the bacteria or the host immune response to the infection. Our group previously demonstrated that treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis in rabbits with innovative cold atmospheric plasma (iCAP) resulted in reduced edema, ulcer formation, and bacterial load. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of iCAP treatment in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). New Zealand white rabbits were infected intrastromally with MRSA then treated with iCAP, moxifloxacin, vancomycin, or combination of iCAP with each antibiotic to assess the safety and efficacy of iCAP treatment compared to untreated controls and antibiotics. iCAP treatment significantly reduced bacterial loads and inflammation, improved anterior chamber clarity, and prevented corneal ulceration compared to untreated controls and antibiotic treatment. Safety assessments of grimace test scores and tear production showed that iCAP was not significantly different from either antibiotic treatment in terms of distress or tear production. Combination iCAP/antibiotic treatment did not appear to provide significant added benefit over iCAP alone. Our findings suggest that the addition of iCAP may be a viable tool in reducing damage to the cornea and anterior chamber of the eye following S. aureus keratitis. •An innovative cold atmospheric plasma (iCAP) device was developed for treatment of bacterial keratitis.•ICAP treatment of rabbit corneas infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus significantly reduced bacterial burden and inflammation compared to antibiotics or untreated controls.•Combining iCAP with antibiotics did not provide additional efficacy or prevention of inflammation.
ISSN:0014-4835
1096-0007
DOI:10.1016/j.exer.2023.109692