BACTERIOPHAGE THERAPY AS A POTENTIAL SOLUTION TO ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Background: Antibiotic resistance is a severe global health issue and novel therapeutic approaches need to be formulated. Bacteriophage (phage) therapy which uses viruses to infect and kill infection-causing bacteria has re-emerged as a new solution. This systematic review assesses the efficacy, challenges, and clinical promise of phage therapy for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infection.

Objective: This systematic review aims to synthesize global evidence on phage therapy’s clinical success rates and limitations, analyze current technological and regulatory gaps and evaluate combinatorial approaches with antibiotics.

Method: A review was conducted on 14 articles and research studies from Google Scholar and PubMed, focusing on the bacteriophage therapy as potential solution for antibiotic resistance. Studies from 2010 to 2025 were screened and relevant articles were included featuring major challenges, host immune reactions, limited phage specificity and regulatory barriers.

Result:  Phage therapy was 75–89% effective in curing resistant infections (e.g., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, MRSA) in clinical case reports with few side effects. Major challenges were host immune reactions, limited phage specificity, and regulatory barriers. Combination therapies (phage-antibiotic) synergistically increased bacterial eradication (p<0.05 in 62% of studies).

Conclusion: Phage therapy is a highly promising, precision medicine-based antibiotic alternative but standardized protocols and large-scale trials are urgently required. Future research will have to optimize phage cocktails and overcome delivery challenges to enable broader clinical use.