Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2023 · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciad335 · Published: June 3, 2023
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing problem, and phages, viruses that infect bacteria, offer a potential therapeutic solution. This study reports on the outcomes of customized phage therapy for 12 patients with difficult-to-treat antimicrobial-resistant infections. The study retrospectively assessed 12 cases of customized phage therapy. The phages were screened, purified, sequenced, and characterized. The outcomes were assessed as favorable or unfavorable by microbiologic and clinical standards. Customized phage production and therapy was safe and yielded favorable clinical or microbiological outcomes in two-thirds of cases. This suggests that a center dedicated to tailoring phages against a patient's specific AMR bacterial infection may be a viable option where standard treatment has failed.
Customized phage therapy can be a safe and effective option for treating difficult-to-treat antimicrobial-resistant infections, especially when standard treatments have failed.
Further research is needed to standardize treatment protocols, automate phage screening and purification, and develop premade phage cocktails.
The establishment of centers dedicated to customized phage cocktails can provide personalized infectious disease therapy and combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.