Current perspectives of bacteriophage therapy for multidrug-resistant wound infections

INTRODUCTION: The global rise in MDR bacterial infections has made the treatment of chronic and acute wound infections increasingly challenging. Conventional antibiotics often fail, leading to delay healing, more complications, and higher healthcare costs. AREAS COVERED: This review explores the current state of phage therapy as an alternative or adjunct to antibiotics for MDR-infected wounds. It summarizes types of wound infections, current treatment protocols, and recent clinical studies using phage therapy. This review also discusses the advantages of personalized phage preparations and highlights innovative local delivery methods. References were identified through a structured search of recent peer-reviewed studies and case reports in PubMed. EXPERT OPINION: Phage therapy shows promise against antimicrobial-resistant wound infections. Although clinical outcomes are encouraging, its widespread use is limited by legal, technical, and awareness barriers. Future success in the treatment of wound infections with phage therapy will depend on the development of standardized protocols, rapid diagnostics tools, and large-scale clinical trials - challenges that also apply broadly to phage therapy in other clinical contexts. Phage therapy, especially in local applications, aligns well with the principles of personalized medicine and may become a valuable component of modern wound care within the next decade.