Phage Therapy Combined with Gum Karaya Hydrogels for Treatment of Multi-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Deep Wound Infection in a Porcine Model
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Background Gum karaya (GK) polysaccharide-based hydrogels keep a moist environment and stimulate wound healing. Its antimicrobial potential against multi-resistant?Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains has been previously established.?Supplementation of GK with phage preparations can increase its antimicrobial potential. ? Methods A total of six fully immunocompetent pigs, each with twenty 5 x 5 cm skin defects, were used. The multi-resistant P. aeruginosa strain FF2 was applied after surgical excisions. On Days 4, 7, 11, and 14 after infection, tissue samples of wounds were taken for microbiological evaluation. The wounds of four pigs were treated using GK hydrogels supplemented with phages Pbunavirus (MB501) and Phikmvvirus (LUZ19) at concentrations of 10^9 PFU per wound. Two pigs were left untreated to monitor the progress of infection. ? Results Three days after infection, wounds showed a bacterial load of 7.8 ± 0.4 log CFU/g of tissue. During the experiment, untreated pigs exhibited a decrease in bacterial numbers in wounds to 6.9 ± 0.4 log CFU/g (1.0 log CFU/g difference). The decrease in wounds of treated pigs was to 5.1 ± 0.8 log CFU/g of tissue (2.7 log CFU/g difference). The statistical evaluation showed a significant decrease in the number of bacteria (p < 0.01). Conclusion The study shows a synergistic effect of GK and phage therapy, resulting in a significant reduction in bacterial loads within ten days of treatment. No adverse effects of the GK hydrogels of phage preparations were observed during the study. Therefore, this treatment offers a promising avenue for future research and clinical applications. |
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