Open AccessEfficacy of Phage-Antibiotic Combinations Against Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Isolates
Author(s) -
Hafiza Qurat-ul-Ain,
Muhammad Ijaz,
Abu Baker Siddique,
Saima Muzammil,
Muhammad Shafique,
Muhammad Hidayat Rasool,
Ahmad Almatroudi,
Mohsin Khurshid,
Tamoor Hamid Chaudhry,
Bilal Aslam
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
jundishapur journal of microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.281
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 2008-4161
pISSN - 2008-3645
DOI - 10.5812/jjm.111926
Subject(s) - phage therapy , klebsiella pneumoniae , microbiology and biotechnology , antibiotics , tetracycline , antibiotic resistance , multiple drug resistance , cefepime , klebsiella , biology , virology , medicine , bacteriophage , imipenem , escherichia coli , biochemistry , gene
Background: Increasing antibiotic resistance warrants therapeutic alternatives to eradicate resistant bacteria. Combined phage-antibiotic therapy is a promising approach for eliminating bacterial infections and limiting the evolution of therapy-resistant diseases. Objectives: In the present study, we evaluated the effects of combinations of bacteriophages and antibiotics against multidrug-resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae. Methods: 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. Results: The phage-cefepime and tetracycline combinations displayed promising therapeutic effects, restricting the growth of K. pneumoniae isolates, as evidenced by recording OD650nm values. Conclusions: 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.