The application value of bacteriophage in patients with severe drug-resistant bacterial infections

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents one of the most significant global public health threats, imposing substantial economic burdens. To address this critical issue of resistance, one of the most promising alternative strategies for treating antimicrobial resistant bacterial infections is bacteriophage therapy. Bacteriophages exhibit high specificity towards bacteria, capable of lysing and killing specific bacterial strains. Phage cocktails can broaden the spectrum of activity, contribute to target multiple types of bacteria. Personalized bacteriophage therapy, tailored to individual patients, enhances precise targeting of pathogens. Increasing evidence supports the feasibility of phage-antibiotic combinations in treating multidrug-resistant bacteria. Furthermore, genetic engineering, including technologies like clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas, has advanced the development of engineering phages, providing novel ways to kill bacterial hosts. This review discusses the research progress of bacteriophage for refractory infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, the advantages and limitations of phage therapy, and highlights clinical studies and case reports of various phage treatment modalities.