Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Nov 4:1:100008.
doi: 10.1016/j.bioflm.2019.100008. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Improving antibiotic treatment of bacterial biofilm by hyperbaric oxygen therapy: Not just hot air

P Ø Jensen  1   2 , S A Møller  1 , C J Lerche  1 , C Moser  1 , T Bjarnsholt  1   2 , O Ciofu  2 , D Faurholt-Jepsen  3 , N Høiby  1   2 , M Kolpen  1
Affiliations
Review

Improving antibiotic treatment of bacterial biofilm by hyperbaric oxygen therapy: Not just hot air

P Ø Jensen et al. Biofilm. .

Abstract

Bacteria and fungi show substantial increased recalcitrance when growing as infectious biofilms. Chronic infections caused by biofilm growing microorganisms is considered a major problem of modern medicine. New strategies are needed to improve antibiotic treatment of biofilms. We have improved antibiotic treatment of bacterial biofilms by reviving the dormant bacteria and thereby make them susceptible to antibiotics by means of reoxygenation. Here we review the rationale for associating lack of oxygen with low susceptibility in infectious biofilm, and how hyperbaric oxygen therapy may result in reoxygenation leading to enhanced bactericidal activity of antibiotics. We address issues of feasibility and potential adverse effects regarding patient safety and development of resistance. Finally, we propose means for supplying reoxygenation to antibiotic treatment of infectious biofilm with the potential to benefit large groups of patients.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Biofilm; Hyperbaric oxygen; Susceptibility.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Confirmed (solid lines) and putative (dotted lines) mechanisms leading to increased bacterial killing when applying HBOT during antibiotic treatment of infectious bacterial biofilms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. www.who.int/antimicrobial-resistance/global-action-plan/en..
    1. Jensen P.Ø., Kolpen M., Kragh K.N., Kühl M. Micro-environmental characteristics and physiology of biofilms in chronic infections of CF patients are strongly affected by the host immune response. APMIS. 2017;125:276–288. - PubMed
    1. Høiby N., Bjarnsholt T., Moser C., Jensen P.Ø., Kolpen M., Qvist T., Aanaes K., Pressler T., Skov M., Ciofu O. Diagnosis of biofilm infections in cystic fibrosis patients. APMIS. 2017;125:339–343. - PubMed
    1. Kidd T.J., Canton R., Ekkelenkamp M., Johansen H.K., Gilligan P., LiPuma J.J., Bell S.C., Elborn J.S., Flume P.A., VanDevanter D.R., Waters V.J. Antimicrobial resistance in cystic fibrosis international working G. Defining antimicrobial resistance in cystic fibrosis. J Cyst Fibros Off J Eur Cyst Fibros Soc. 2018;17:696–704. - PubMed
    1. Flume P.A., Waters V.J., Bell S.C., Van Devanter D.R., Stuart Elborn J. Antimicrobial resistance in cystic fibrosis international working G. Antimicrobial resistance in cystic fibrosis: does it matter? J Cyst Fibros Off J Eur Cyst Fibros Soc. 2018;17:687–689. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources