Pseudomonas Diagnosis and Treatment (Phage Therapy!)

About 25-30% of people with bronchiectasis will at some point grow Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) in their lungs. The older we are, the more widespread our bronchiectasis and the poorer our lung function, the more likely we are to get a Pa infection.

Regular sputum cultures are critical as sometimes there are no indications that Pa is causing an infection. However, particularly for those of us who have had these infections in the past, we might notice:

Green sputum
More sputum
Bad breath
More fatigue
More coughing
 
There seems to be consensus in the medical community that when Pa first appears in our sputum, effort should be made to eradicate it by taking oral antibiotics, or IV antibiotics, and perhaps, adding inhaled antibiotics. 

However, if Pa remains in our lungs, it becomes challenging to clear. Similar to NTM bacteria, Pa bacteria clump together in a biofilm, making it difficult to eradicate. On top of that, it can be antibiotic resistant. 

Sometimes chronic Pa doesn’t cause an increase in symptoms and discomfort. However, when it does, people will often take courses of antibiotics to quiet it down. 

During the European Lung Foundation Bronchiectasis Patient Conference in 2022, Dr Josje Altenburg from Amsterdam UMC discussed this in her talk titled —”Is the Pseudomonas a threat or a pet?” 

Have a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bNlHxTIY14

Currently, there is a clinical trial looking at phage therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa in people with bronchiectasis. The study is being conducted by Armata Pharmaceuticals at multiple US sites. 

The phage are administered through inhalation therapy. The study is still recruiting and will be complete with 60 participants. Please note one needs to have a BMI equal to or greater than 18 to be included in the study.

armatapharma.com/

#pseudomonas #lungdisease #bronchiectasis 
#airwayclearance #sputum #mucus #phelgm #lunginfection #lunginflammation #chroniccough