Fig. 2: Co-therapy accelerates airway obstruction relief across functional and radiographic measures.
From: Ecological partitioning enables phage–antibiotic cooperation in a human Pseudomonas infection
a, b Spirometric evidence of improved airway mechanics. a Forced vital capacity (FVC, green) and percent-predicted FVC (ppFVC, blue) over time. Dashed line indicates mean baseline FVC = 3.00 ± 0.12 L. b FEV₁/FVC ratio, representing the relationship between airflow and volume, expressed as percent change over time. The declining ratio during treatment reflects persistent small-airway damage limiting full recovery. c Quantitative computed tomography (qCT) chest images in the axial lung window after 2 days of ciprofloxacin alone (left) and one day post-coadministration (right). Reduced opacity in the left upper lobe indicates decreased inflammation. d Bar graphs showing reduced lobar air-trapping percentages following co-therapy. Values are reported for total lung (TL), right lung (RL), left lung (LL), right upper lobe (RUL), right lower lobe (RLL), left upper lobe (LUL), and left lower lobe (LLL). e Mid-maximal expiratory flow (MMEF, L s−1) derived from spirometry confirms partial small-airway clearance. f Principal-component analysis (PCA) biplot of 16 dimensionally reduced patient data sets integrating pulmonary, hematologic, and renal indices. Each circle represents a single day’s standardized data, colored by treatment phase; hierarchically defined clusters are circled. Arrows indicate variable loadings (see Table S5). Vector directionality and sample convergence toward baseline indicate an additive contribution of phage therapy relative to antibiotic monotherapy.
