Introducing "Rapid phage susceptibility testing" (RPST): an accelerated lytic phage activity test for routine diagnostic laboratories within eight hours.

Phage therapy, particularly for infections due to multi-drug-resistant bacteria, is increasingly gaining in importance. Consecutively, there is a rising need for phage testing in routine diagnostic laboratories. The incubation time of phage susceptibility testing for detecting lytic phage activity on phage/host strain combinations was evaluated. A standardized approach for routine diagnostic laboratories provided reliably detectable lysis zones within 8 hours.