Bacteriophage Therapy of Difficult-to-treat Infections: a Retrospective, Observational Analysis of the First One Hundred Consecutive Cases Facilitated by a Belgian Consortium

Background: In 2008, the Queen Astrid military hospital (QAMH) re-initiated treatments with phages, in selective cases. The QAMH implemented a Phage Therapy Coordination Center (PTCC), which is an essential step in the re-introduction of safe and efficient phage therapy, in collaboration with several hospitals and the public health authorities.

In 2018, Belgium implemented a pragmatic phage therapy framework that centers on the magistral preparation (compounding pharmacies in the US) of tailor-made phage medicines, which paved the way for a broader and more structured application of phages in Belgium.

The PTCC facilitated phage therapy in about 110 difficult-to-treat infections in patients in Belgium, but also abroad, as the Belgian is increasingly finding appeal in other European countries.

Objective: The goal of this study is to retrospectively analyse observational data on the first one hundred consecutive phage therapy cases of difficult-to-treat infections, which were facilitated by the PTCC. The knowledge gained from these cases would help physicians to select effective treatment protocols and to design new clinical trials.

Study design: A de-identified database consisting of demographical, microbiological and clinical observational data on 100 consecutive phage applications performed between 01/01/2008 and 31/05/22 will be retrospectively analyzed. A list of the parameters that will be analyzed can be found in addendum 1.