Table 2.
Summary of recent published clinical reports of phage therapy in humans.
| Case reports | Phage treatment and route of administration | Combination therapy | Outcomes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bone and joint infections | ||||
| MSSA diabetic toe ulcers with osteomyelitis (n=6) | Sb-1 phage topically | – | Wounds healed without recurrence indicating successful treatment with no further antibiotic therapy (7 weeks on average) | (Fish et al., 2016) |
| MRSA distal phalangeal osteomyelitis (n=1) | Sb-1 phage into the soft tissue | – | Reossification of the distal phalanx (7 weeks) | (Fish et al., 2018) |
| MRSA and MSSA bone-related infection: pelvic bone infection (n=1), complex fracture of foot (n=1), mandibular fracture (n=1), femoral fracture under hip prosthesis (n=1), tibia osteomyelitis and fracture (n=2) | Commercially-available phage solution administered preoperatively or perioperatively via catheter | 2 cases out of 6 | In all cases, bacteriophage therapy led to complete disappearance of S. aureus (less than 12 months on average) | (Patey et al., 2018) |
| MSSA prosthetic knee-joint infection (n=4) | PP1493, PP1815, and PP1957 phage cocktail into the joint | Suppressive therapy | Beneficial with a clinically substantial improvement in function (between 3 and 18 months) | (Ferry et al., 2018; Ferry et al., 2020) |
| MSSA prosthetic knee-joint infection (n=1) | SaGR51ø1 phage into the joint | Cefazolin | Clinical cure, safety and lack of adverse events, with durable treatment response (6 months) | (Ramirez-Sanchez et al., 2021) |
| Skin and soft tissue infections | ||||
| MRSA infection with Netherton syndrome (congenital erythroderma) (n=1) | Pyobacteriophage cocktail and Sb-1 phage topically and orally | – | Hyperemic areas became smaller, the thickness of the yellowish film layer reduced joint mobility improved and areas of normal skin began to appear (6 months) | (Zhvania et al., 2017) |
| Heart and pulmonary infections | ||||
| S. aureus and P. aeruginosa cystic fibrosis (n=1) | Pyobacteriophage and Sb-1 phage cocktail by nebulizer | – | No adverse events and clinical response for elimination of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus (3 months) | (Kvachadze et al., 2011) |
| MSSA cardiomyopathy infection (n=1) | AB-SA01 phage cocktail (J-Sa36, Sa83, and Sa87) intravenously | Cefazolin, minocycline | The combined treatment resulted in negative sternal wound and intra-operative samples (approximately 3 months) | (Aslam et al., 2019) |
| MSSA prosthetic valve endocarditis (n=1) | AB-SA01 phage cocktail (J-Sa36, Sa83, and Sa87) intravenously | Flucloxacillin, ciprofloxacin and rifampicin | Negative blood cultures and bacteriophage infusions well-tolerated (approximately 1 month) | (Gilbey et al., 2019) |
| S. aureus cardiothoracic surgery infection (n=5) | Sa30, CH1, SCH1 or SCH111 phages, locally, orally or by inhalation | Different combined antibiotic therapy for each patient | Eradication of S. aureus, no severe side effects (less than 1 month) | (Rubalskii et al., 2020) |
| Eye, ear, nose, and throat infections | ||||
| MRSA corneal infection with chronic nasal and dermatological carriage (n=1) | SATA-8505 phage topically (eye drop, nasal spray) and intravenously | – | Negative ocular and nasal culture (3 months) | (Fadlallah et al., 2015) |
MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; MSSA, methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus.