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ANTIMICROBIALS

Phages to the rescue

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 20, page 703 (2022)Cite this article

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Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common cause of hospital-acquired infections, necessitating the development of novel treatment approaches. Now, a recent case report illustrates the potential of the therapeutic use of bacteriophages (phage therapy) for treating nosocomial P. aeruginosa infection. Van Nieuwenhuyse et al. report that a phage–antibiotic combination therapy was successful in treating XDR P. aeruginosa infection following liver transplantation in a toddler. 53 days post-transplantation, the toddler presented with severe sepsis caused by XDR P. aeruginosa, which was resistant to intravenous antibiotics, and the toddler was subsequently admitted to paediatric intensive care. The toddler was treated with an intravenous infusion of a cocktail of Staphylococcus aureus phage (ISP) and two P. aeruginosa phages (PNM and 14-1) for 86 days. Phage therapy in combination with antibiotics controlled bloodstream infection, enabling re-transplantation and eventual resolution of infection.

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Original article

  • Van Nieuwenhuyse, B. et al. Bacteriophage-antibiotic combination therapy against extensively drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection to allow liver transplantation in a toddler. Nat. Commun. 13, 5725 (2022)

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  1. Nature Reviews Microbiology http://www.nature.com/nrmicro/

    Ashley York

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  1. Ashley York
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Correspondence to Ashley York.

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York, A. Phages to the rescue. Nat Rev Microbiol 20, 703 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-022-00814-w

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