Efficacy of Phage-Antibiotic Combinations Against Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Isolates

Increasing antibiotic resistance warrants therapeutic alternatives to eradicate resistant bacteria. Combined phageantibiotic therapy is a promising approach for eliminating bacterial infections and limiting the evolution of therapy-resistant diseases.

In the present study, we evaluated the effects of combinations of bacteriophages and antibiotics against multidrugresistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Two MDR strains (GenBank no. MF953600 & MF953599) of K. pneumoniae were used. Bacteriophages were isolated from hospital sewage samples by employing a double agar overlay assay and identified by transmission electron microscopy. For further characterization of bacteriophages, the killing assay and host range test were performed. To assess therapeutic efficacy, phages (7.5 × 104 PFU/mL) were used in combination with various antibiotics.

The phage-cefepime & tetracycline combinations displayed promising therapeutic effects, restricting the growth of K. pneumoniae isolates, as evidenced by recording OD650nm values.

The results of the current study showed that phage-antibiotic combination was a potential therapeutic approach to treat the infections caused by MDR K. pneumoniae.