Bacteriophage Therapy for Urinary Tract Infections
This study is evaluating whether bacteriophage therapy may be an effective treatment for urinary tract infections.
See full descriptionAbout the trial for Urinary Tract Infections
Treatment Groups
This trial involves 6 different treatments. Bacteriophage Therapy is the primary treatment being studied. Participants will be divided into 6 treatment groups. There is no placebo group. The treatments being tested are in Phase 1 & 2 and have already been tested with other people.
Eligibility
This trial is for patients born any sex aged 18 and older. There are 5 eligibility criteria to participate in this trial as listed below.
Approximate Timelines
Measurement Requirements
This trial is evaluating whether Bacteriophage Therapy will improve 1 primary outcome, 2 secondary outcomes, and 1 other outcome in patients with Urinary Tract Infections. Measurement will happen over the course of baseline.
Patient Q & A Section
What is urinary tract infections?
UTIs are infection of the urinary tract. The urinary tract includes the kidney, ureters, urethra, and urinary bladder. The urinary tract is also the path for urine outflow to the exterior and is the primary site for urinary excretion. Once the urine leaves the kidneys, ureters and urethra, it may become contaminated with bacteria and other organisms. This contamination can lead to urinary tract infections, which may cause blood clots, kidney stones, and death.
What are the signs of urinary tract infections?
Symptom duration is often not as long as 3 or more days to more than 7 days after the initial onset of symptoms. Fever (89.1%) is the most common presenting sign for urinary tract infections. There appears to be a change in duration of illness with duration exceeding 20 days being most common (63%), followed by fever (27%) and painful sensations (27%). The most common presenting complaint is urinary urgency (54%). Urinary urgency is most frequently reported without having passed urine (44%) or with frequency (25%). Numbness (28%) and dysuria (25%) are also common. The presence of urgency (37%) is the most common presenting complaint on urinary diaries.
Can urinary tract infections be cured?
Some signs of urinary tract infection are easily prevented by avoiding contact with infected and/or contaminated sources like toilets. However, most UTIs are not prevented by simple avoidance measures and treatment with prescription drugs for cure. There are no reliable treatments for infected urinary drainage (pyelonephritis). The overall cure rate for urinary tract infections is high, and patients must take a clear pros and cons list for each treatment option.
What causes urinary tract infections?
If we accept that UTIs are mainly caused by bacterial biofilm, our findings suggest that the use of antibiotics to treat UTI is an unjustified expense.
How many people get urinary tract infections a year in the United States?
Urinary tract infections are one of the leading sources of antibiotic consumption in the United States. Rates are increasing due to the growing number of community acquired as well as hospital acquired infections. Urinary tract infections are common in all regions of the country. These data can be used to estimate the public health burden and to assess the impact of preventive treatment initiatives.
What are common treatments for urinary tract infections?
Most common UTI treatments include over-the-counter medication and other simple interventions, such as fluid replacement, bladder irrigation, and rest. In more severe cases, treatment may include catheterization and urinary catheter removal to remove infectious material from the urinary tract. There is no cure for symptomatic UTI. Treatment of UTI is focused on relieving symptomatology.
What is the primary cause of urinary tract infections?
The most common cause of urinary tract infection is Enterobacteriaceae, which includes Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas. Other infections include: \n- Urinary tract infection associated with catheter use: Enterococcus sanguinicatendus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonaie, Proteus mirabilis\n- Mixed infections: Eikenella corrodens, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacteriaceae, Klebsiella ananas, Psathyrella (aerobes, gram-negative cocci)\n- Urethritis and prostatitis: E.
What are the latest developments in bacteriophage therapy for therapeutic use?
The development of an effective and safe bacteriophage therapy for therapeutic use is a significant challenge for the future. In the U.S., there is great interest in development of bacteriophage with high-level specificity for urinary tract infections. Power enables you to find clinical trials tailored to your condition, location, and treatment. Until the development of such a highly specific phage, the development of phage therapy has not been feasible.
How does bacteriophage therapy work?
Bacteriophage therapy is the treatment of bacterial infections. The aim of this review is to present the evidence for bacteriophage therapy in lower urinary tract infections (infections caused by bacteria that may or may not be of urinogenital origin). Although there may be evidence for short-, medium-, and long-term effects, and evidence of minimal side effects, high-quality controlled studies are either limited in size or design or are of poor quality.
What is bacteriophage therapy?
Bacteriophages are promising agents against recalcitrant bacterial infections including urinary tract infections. Potential benefits of bacteriophages include: reduced antibiotic toxicity, increased host range, enhanced pathogen inactivation, and reduced bacterial virulence. One of the most severe drawbacks of therapy with bacteriophages is that current methods for detection and isolation from patient samples are too cumbersome and may be compromised in patients with compromised immunity. An improved method to enumerate phage in samples to be detected and to isolate them from patient samples would be of utmost benefit to the phage therapy field. The development of molecular probes would represent a major improvement to current methods of enumeration and isolation. For detection and isolation, new fluorescent methods are desirable for clinical care.
What is the average age someone gets urinary tract infections?
Urinary tract infection, as defined by microbiological isolation of a UTI-causing organism, occurs in about one million women annually. A recent meta-analysis by the Cochrane Collaborative Group has clarified some aspects of what constitutes an isolate of a UTI-causing organism in women not suffering from recurrent UTIs. It has not yet been determined whether this population is better treated with antibiotics, with or without another treatment, or with antibiotics alone. However, we feel that further research is needed to answer this question definitively.
What is the latest research for urinary tract infections?
Urology is in the midst of several new advances that relate, directly or indirectly, to management of urinary tract infections. While there have been many advances related to the diagnosis of urinary tract infections, advances relating to prophylaxis have been limited and have typically been focused on limiting the emergence of drug resistance. As for antibiotics, it is evident that certain strains of bacteria are inherently more resistant to antibiotics. Thus, the identification and characterization of such drug-resistant uropathogenic bacteria and the development of new more effective antimicrobial agents, in addition to strategies for prevention of their ascent are ongoing goals.