Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a widespread opportunistic pathogen that causes bloodstream, urinary tract, burn wounds infections and is one of the largest pathogens that infect cystic fibrosis patients’ airways and can be life-threatening for P. aeruginosa infections. In addition, P. aeruginosa remains one of the most significant and difficult nosocomial pathogens to handle. Increasingly, multi-drug resistance (MDR) strains are identified and the option of therapy is often very limited in these cases, particularly when searching for antimicrobial combinations to treat serious infections. The fact that no new antimicrobial agents are active against the MDR strains of P. aeruginosa is an additional matter of concern. In recent decades, bacterial drug resistance has increased, but the rate of discovery of new antibiotics has decreased steadily. The fight for new, powerful antibacterial agents has therefore become a top priority. This chapter illustrates and explores the current state of several innovative therapeutic methods that can be further discussed in clinical practice in the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections.
Highlights
We are currently facing an international crisis with many troublesome aspects: new antibiotics are no longer being detected, resistance mechanisms are developing in almost all clinical isolates of bacteria, and the effective treatment of infections is hampered by recurrent infections caused by persistent bacteria
For patients whose infections are resistant to traditional antibiotics, the development of new antibiotics or alternative therapeutic methods for treating P. aeruginosa infections is urgently needed
Another research found that intranasal administration of P3-CHA bacteriophage to mice receiving a lethal dose of P. aeruginosa strain CHA substantially improved the rate of survival and reduced the bacterial load in the lungs [103]
Summary
We are currently facing an international crisis with many troublesome aspects: new antibiotics are no longer being detected, resistance mechanisms are developing in almost all clinical isolates of bacteria, and the effective treatment of infections is hampered by recurrent infections caused by persistent bacteria. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa as one of three bacterial species with an urgent need for new antibiotics to be developed to treat infections [7]. For patients whose infections are resistant to traditional antibiotics, the development of new antibiotics or alternative therapeutic methods for treating P. aeruginosa infections is urgently needed. Several novel non-antibiotic therapeutic approaches that are highly successful in destroying antibiotic resistant P. aeruginosa strains have been documented in recent studies [24]. These approaches include: antimicrobial peptides, phage therapy, inhibition of quorum sensing, iron chelation, the use of nanoparticles, probiotic and vaccine strategy. In order to combat P. aeruginosa infections, these therapeutic approaches may be used either as an alternative to or in conjunction with traditional antibiotic therapies
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