In offering a brief summary of our experience in the application of bacteriophage therapy to urinary infections with colon bacilli, we are well aware of earlier observations in this field. A review of the earlier work seems superfluous, but we wish to acknowledge our indebtedness to the pioneer studies, and their aid as a guide in our own attempts. Those who have worked in this field have, as a rule, observed some favorable effect, apparently due to the bacteriophage in some instances, and an occasional strikingly favorable result evidently related to the use of this agent. However, there have been many disappointments and unexplained failures, so that some of the workers with extensive experience have lost their early enthusiasm for the use of bacteriophages in this field.
We are inclined to think that some of the failures may have been due to lack of understanding of the limitations of bacteriophage