The cocktail for oral administration included 43 phages active against clinical strains of Enterococcus faecalis, Enterobacter cloacae, Enterobacter kobei, Proteus vulgaris, Proteus mirabilis, K. pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus warneri, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Staphylococcus capitis, Staphylococcus caprae, Staphylococcus suсcinus, Enterococcus faecium, and Citrobacter freundii. The preparation consisted of a sterile suspension of phage particles in a physiological solution. The titer of each bacteriophage was between 105 and 106 PFU/mL.
The cocktail for inhalation included 45 phages active against clinical strains of Acinetobacter baumannii, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, K. pneumoniae, K. pneumoniae subsp. ozanae, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, S. warneri, S. haemolyticus, S. capitis, S. caprae, S. suсcinus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae. The preparation consisted of a sterile suspension of phage particles in a physiological solution. The titer of each bacteriophage was between 105 and 106 PFU/mL.
The results showed the safety of this application and the absence of side effects. The phage therapy group showed statistically significant improvements in saturation and respiratory rate as well as a decrease in inflammatory markers, such as ESR and Bacteroides fragilis group/Faecalibacterium prausnitzii ratio, according to PCR analysis of gut microbiota. The results demonstrate the relevance of bacteriophages in the rehabilitation of the microbiota of patients who have undergone COVID-19 and received antibiotic treatment. This work will serve as a starting point for a broader and more detailed study of the effects of phages on the human microbiome and the whole organism.