Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Fluorescent light kills Staph bacteria in lab tests
By Lundberg, Annette T et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2024·College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: In vitro evaluation of bactericidal effects of fluorescent light energy on Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and S. aureus.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at how effective fluorescent light energy (FLE) is against two types of bacteria, Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause skin infections in dogs. Researchers tested various treatments using blue light and a special hydrogel but found that none of the methods significantly killed the bacteria in the lab setting. Despite this, many veterinarians report success using FLE in real-life treatments for dog skin infections, suggesting that the effectiveness may come from other factors when treating pets.
People also search for: dog skin infection treatment · Staphylococcus aureus in dogs · fluorescent light therapy for dog pyoderma
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and S. aureus are bacterial species of importance in veterinary medicine. The increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance necessitates the implementation of novel treatment modalities. Fluorescent light energy (FLE) is used as an adjunctive and primary treatment for canine pyoderma. However, no in vitro studies exist investigating its bactericidal effects against S. pseudintermedius or S. aureus. OBJECTIVES: To determine the bactericidal effects of FLE on S. pseudintermedius and S. aureus isolates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two meticillin-susceptible S. pseudintermedius (MSSP) isolates, three meticillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) isolates and one meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolate were studied. A commercially available blue light-emitting diode (bLED) lamp and photoconverting hydrogel FLE system was used. All bacteria were exposed to five conditions following inoculation: (i) no treatment (control); (ii) blue light (bLED) once; (iii) bLED twice consecutively; (iv) FLE (bLED and photoconverting hydrogel) once; and (v) FLE (bLED and photoconverting hydrogel) twice consecutively. Each individual exposure was 2 min long. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found for any treatment group when each bacterial isolate was evaluated individually, MSSP isolates were grouped, MRSP isolates were grouped, when all S. pseudintermedius isolates were combined, or when all isolates of both Staphylococcus species were combined. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: While clinical success is reported when using FLE to treat Staphylococcus infections in animals, no in vitro antibacterial efficacy was identified for S. pseudintermedius or S. aureus under experimental conditions. The clinical success observed with FLE may be the result of a more complex in vivo response.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38177510/