Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Or Ozone Effective In Experimental Endocarditis?

Background: Infective endocarditis, a disease with high mortality and morbidity, is most commonly caused by Staphylococcus aureus; mortality and morbidity further increase in the presence of methicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus. Linezolid is the first of the oxazolidinones, a new antibiotic group that has been approved for the treatment of infections caused by gram-positive cocci. Linezolid reduces the quantity of microorganisms in vegetation to some extent; in addition, the use of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and ozone (O-3) therapies is likely to improve targeted antibacterial effect. Materials and methods: Fifty-six adult male Wistar rats weighing 300-350 g were used. The subjects were divided into groups as follows: Group 1 (n = 8): control group that was not inoculated with microorganisms and was untreated; Group 2 (n = 8): control group that was inoculated with microorganisms but was untreated; Group 3 (n = 8): linezolid treatment group; Group 4 (n = 8): O-3 therapy group; Group 5 (n = 8): HBO therapy group; Group 6 (n = 8): linezolid + O-3 therapy group; Group 7 (n = 8): linezolid + HBO therapy group. Results: In terms of reducing the number of colonies in the aortic valve, linezolid + HBO therapy was found to be the most effective treatment. Then, respectively linezolid + O-3, linezolid, HBO, and O-3 were found to be effective. Conclusions: We found that linezolid significantly reduced the number of bacteria in the vegetation in the experimental endocarditis model, and HBO therapy increases the effectiveness of linezolid and makes this better than O-3. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.