Phage Therapy in the Era of Multidrug Resistance in Bacteria: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Bacteriophages offer an alternative for the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial diseases as their mechanism of action differs from that of antibiotics. However, their application in the clinical field is limited to specific cases of patients with few or no other alternative therapies. This systematic review assesses the effectiveness and safety of phage therapy against multidrug-resistant bacteria through the evaluation of studies published over the past decade. To that end, a bibliographic search was carried out in the PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases. Of the 1500 studies found, 27 met the inclusion criteria, with a total of 165 treated patients. Treatment effectiveness, defined as the reduction in or elimination of the bacterial load, was 85%. Except for two patients who died from causes unrelated to phage therapy, no serious adverse events were reported. This shows that phage therapy could be an alternative treatment for patients with infections associated with multidrug-resistant bacteria. However, owing to the phage specificity required for the treatment of various bacterial strains, this therapy must be personalized in terms of bacteriophage type, route of administration, and dosage.

Injection Drug Use-Associated Infective Endocarditis

“…The use of lytic bacteriophages as antibacterial therapy has long been hypothesized but clinical studies are in their infancy [157]. To date few persons have been treated with a bacteriophage and only when all other alternatives had been exhausted.…”

Annotation of the Complete Genome Sequences of Bacteriophages Sara and Birdfeeder

“…Characterizing bacteriophages improves understanding of the most plentiful biological constructs on earth and their human health applications ( 1 , 2 ). As Microbacterium have been associated with plant drought resistance and meat spoilage, phages infecting this genus are of interest for the agricultural and food industries ( 3 ).…”

Aspects of Phage-Based Vaccines for Protein and Epitope Immunization

“…Bacteriophages or phages are viruses that replicate only within bacteria and are the predominant living forms on the planet [ 1 ]. They have various applications, e.g., in drug discovery [ 2 , 3 ], phage therapy [ 4 ], vaccine development [ 5 ], and biocontrol of pathogens in food products [ 6 ]. Phages can be a powerful tool for vaccine and antibody development since they are easy to produce and manipulate and can induce an immune response without adjuvants [ 5 ].…”