Comparative evaluation of antibacterial efficacy of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications and proton-pump inhibitor against Enterococcus faecalis: An in vitro study

AIM: The present in vitro experimental study was undertaken to evaluate and compare the antimicrobial activity of triple antibiotic paste (TAP), diclofenac, and proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) against the microorganism Enterococcus faecalis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three medicaments were selected for the study, TAP, diclofenac, and PPI. The experimental groups for the test were as follows: Part 1 – Group 1: TAP, Group 2: diclofenac, and Group 3: PPI; Part 2 – Group 1: TAP + PPI and Group 2: diclofenac + PPI. An agar well diffusion test was used to determine the efficacy of the experimental medicaments against E. faecalis (ATCC 29212). The diameter of inhibition zones was measured in millimeters using an inhibition zone measuring scale and the results were recorded. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The statistical analysis was done using an analysis of variance and an unpaired t-test. P value was set at < 0.05. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the diameter of growth inhibition zones, with the greatest diameter noted for TAP + PPI followed by diclofenac sodium (DS) + PPI, TAP, DS, and PPI. CONCLUSIONS: The antimicrobial effectiveness of TAP + PPI was found to be superior to all other medicaments (DS + PPI, TAP, DS, and PPI).