Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) are serious complications in transplant patients. The aim of this review is to summarize the evidence regarding nosocomial ...pneumonia in transplant recipients, including HAP in non-ventilated patients and VAP, and to identify future directions for improvement.A comprehensive literature search in the PubMed/MEDLINE database was performed. Articles written in English and published between 1990 and November 2018 were included.
HAP/VAP in transplant patients usually occurs early post-transplant, particularly during neutropenia in haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Bacteria are the leading cause of nosocomial pneumonia for both immunocompetent and transplant recipients, being Gram negative organisms, and especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa, highly prevalent. Multidrug-resistant bacteria are of special concern. Pneumonia in the transplant setting may be caused by opportunistic pathogens, and the differential diagnosis needs to be extended to other non-infectious complications. The most relevant opportunistic pathogens are Aspergillus fumigatus, Pneumocystis jirovecii and cytomegalovirus. Nevertheless, they are an exceptional cause of nosocomial pneumonia, and usually occur in severely immunosuppressed patients not receiving antimicrobial prophylaxis. Performing bronchoalveolar lavage may improve the rate of aetiological diagnosis, leading to a change in therapeutic management and improved outcomes. The optimal length of antibiotic therapy for bacterial HAP/VAP has not been well defined, but it should perhaps be longer than in the general population. Mortality associated with HAP/VAP is high.
HAP/VAP in transplant patients is frequent and is associated with increased mortality. There is room for improvement in gaining knowledge about the management of HAP/VAP in this population.
Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR) are at risk of serious influenza-related complications. The impact of respiratory co-infection in SOTR with 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) is unknown. A ...multicentre prospective study of consecutive cases of pandemic influenza A(H1N1) in SOTR was carried out to assess the clinical characteristics and outcome and the risk factors for co-infection. Overall, 51 patients were included. Median time from transplant was 3.7 years, 5.9% of the cases occurred perioperatively and 7.8% were hospitalacquired. Pneumonia was diagnosed in 15 (29.4%) patients. Ten cases were severe (19.6%): 13.7% were admitted to intensive care units, 5.9% suffered septic shock, 5.9% developed acute graft rejection and 7.8% died. Co-infection was detected in 15 patients (29.4%): eight viral, six bacterial and one fungal. Viral co-infection did not affect the outcome. Patients with non-viral co-infection had a worse outcome: longer hospital stay (26.2 ± 20.7 vs. 5.5 ± 10.2) and higher rate of severe diseases (85.7% vs. 2.3%) and mortality (42.8% vs. 2.3%). Independent risk factors for non-viral co-infection were: diabetes mellitus and septic shock. Other factors associated with severe influenza were: delayed antiviral therapy, diabetes mellitus, time since transplantation <90 days and pneumonia. In conclusion, pandemic influenza A can cause significant direct and indirect effects in SOTR, especially in the early post-transplant period, and should be treated early. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of non-viral co-infection, mainly in diabetic patients and severe cases. An effort should be made to prevent influenza with immunization of the patient and the environment.
Recurrent community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) requiring hospitalization is a matter of particular concern. However, current information on its prevalence, aetiology and risk factors is lacking. To ...address these issues, we performed an observational analysis of a prospective cohort of hospitalized adults with CAP. Recurrence was defined as two or more episodes of CAP 1 month apart within 3 years. Patients with severe immunosuppression or local predisposing factors were excluded. Of the 1556 patients, 146 (9.4%) had recurrent CAP. The most frequent causative organism was Streptococcus pneumoniae, both in patients with recurrent CAP and in those without recurrence. Haemophilus influenzae, other Gram-negative bacilli and aspiration pneumonia were more frequent among patients with recurrent CAP, whereas Legionella pneumophila was rarely identified in this group. Independent factors associated with recurrent CAP were greater age, lack of pneumococcal vaccination, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and corticosteroid therapy. In a sub-analysis of 389 episodes of pneumococcal pneumonia, the only independent risk factor for recurrence was lack of pneumococcal vaccination. Recurrence of CAP is not a rare clinical problem and it occurs mainly in the elderly, patients with COPD, and those receiving corticosteroids. Our study provides support for recommending pneumococcal vaccination for adults at risk of pneumonia, including those with a first episode of CAP.
The first 48 h of evolution of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are critical. The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency, causes and factors associated with early ...mortality in CAP. Nonimmunocompromised adults hospitalised with CAP were prospectively observed from 1995 to 2005. Early deaths, defined as death due to any cause < or = 48 h after admission, were compared with all patients who survived > 48 h. Furthermore, early deaths were compared with late deaths (patients who died > 48 h) and with survivors. Of 2,457 patients, 57 (2.3%) died < or = 48 h after admission. Overall mortality was 7.7%. The main causes of early mortality were respiratory failure and septic shock/multiorgan failure. Independent factors associated with early deaths were increased age, altered mental status at presentation, multilobar pneumonia, shock at admission, pneumococcal bacteraemia and discordant empiric antibiotic therapy. Currently, early mortality is relatively low and is caused by pneumonia-related factors. It occurs mainly among the elderly and in patients presenting with altered mental status, multilobar pneumonia and septic shock. Pneumococcal bacteraemia and discordant antibiotic therapy, mainly due to lack of coverage against Pseudomonas aeruginosa are also significant risk factors.
Contamination of the preservation fluid (PF) used for donated organs is a potential source of post-transplant infection. However, the information on this issue is scarce. We therefore conducted a ...systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the incidence of culture-positive PF and its impact on solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. Seventeen studies were identified and included. The overall incidence of culture-positive PF was 37% (95% CI: 27% to 49%), and the incidence of PF-related infections among SOT recipients with PF cultures that grew pathogenic microorganisms was 10% (95% CI: 7% to 15%). There were differences in the rates of infections due to pathogenic microorganisms between SOT recipients who received pre-emptive treatment and those who did not, but without statistical significance. The mortality rate among SOT recipients with PF-related infection was 35% (95% CI: 21% to 53%). In conclusion, although contamination of the PF of donated organs is frequent, the incidence of PF-related infection is relatively low. A closely clinical and microbiologic monitoring of the SOT recipient in case of culture-positive PF, regardless of the type of microorganism isolated might be do in order to establish a prompt diagnosis of PF-related infection.
•Infection in the post-transplant period represents a major cause of in-hospital mortality among SOT recipients.•This is the first meta-analysis to evaluate the incidences of culture-positive PF and PF-related infection.•Our meta-analysis shows that culture-positive PF is frequent, however the incidence of PF-related infection is low.•Monitoring of SOT recipients with culture-positive PF is needed to establish a prompt diagnosis of PF-related infection.
The End TB Strategy calls for the global scale-up of treatment for latent TB infection (LTBI). We aimed to evaluate a nurse-led care programme for LTBI by identifying gaps in the care cascade in a ...low-incidence TB setting.
We included people at risk of TB over a 15-year period. We define three main outcomes in the LTBI care cascade: 1) attendance at the first appointment, 2) completion of the evaluation process, and 3) completion of treatment.
We identified 6,126 individuals (2,369 TB contacts, 1,749 biological therapy candidates, and 2,008 transplant candidates). Overall, 5,938 (96.9%) attended, 5,872/5,938 (98.9%) completed the evaluation and 1,624/1,847 (87.9%) completed treatment. Pre-biological (aOR 2.32, 95% CI 1.54-3.49) and pre-transplant (aOR 1.82, 95% CI 1.20-2.76) candidates were more likely to attend the first appointment, while age was associated with completing the evaluation process (aOR 1.02, 95% CI 1.003-1.04). Female sex (aOR 1.47, 95% CI 1.08-1.99) was associated with completing the treatment.
Successful assessment and treatment of LTBI is achievable when delivered as a part of a comprehensive, nurse-led, patient-centred programme in specialist TB clinics.
The prognostic factors and optimal therapy for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) after kidney transplantation (KT) remain poorly studied. We included in this multinational retrospective study ...112 recipients diagnosed with probable (75.0% of cases) or proven (25.0%) IPA between 2000 and 2013. The median interval from transplantation to diagnosis was 230 days. Cough, fever, and expectoration were the most common symptoms at presentation. Bilateral pulmonary involvement was observed in 63.6% of cases. Positivity rates for the galactomannan assay in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage samples were 61.3% and 57.1%, respectively. Aspergillus fumigatus was the most commonly identified species. Six‐ and 12‐week survival rates were 68.8% and 60.7%, respectively, and 22.1% of survivors experienced graft loss. Occurrence of IPA within the first 6 months (hazard ratio HR: 2.29; p‐value = 0.027) and bilateral involvement at diagnosis (HR: 3.00; p‐value = 0.017) were independent predictors for 6‐week all‐cause mortality, whereas the initial use of a voriconazole‐based regimen showed a protective effect (HR: 0.34; p‐value = 0.007). The administration of antifungal combination therapy had no apparent impact on outcome. In conclusion, IPA entails a dismal prognosis among KT recipients. Maintaining a low clinical suspicion threshold is key to achieve a prompt diagnosis and to initiate voriconazole therapy.
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis presents a high mortality rate in kidney transplant recipients, with diagnosis within the first 6 months posttransplantation and bilateral lung involvement as independent risk factors for mortality.
Although bloodstream infection (BSI) is a major cause of mortality after solid organ transplantation, information regarding its prognostic factors is scarce. To identify risk factors for 30-day ...mortality in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients with BSI, we prospectively recorded all episodes of BSI occurring in adult SOT recipients from January 2007 to October 2014 at a university hospital. We identified 361 consecutive episodes of BSI involving 246 patients. The 30-day case-fatality rate from the onset of BSI was 11.4%. Factors independently associated with 30-day mortality in a logistic regression analysis were shock at presentation (OR 13.658; 95% CI 5.985–31.168), acute graft rejection in the previous 6 months (OR 3.681; 95% CI 1.059–12.795), and a platelet count of <50 000 × 109/L (OR 3.070; 95% CI 1.173–8.038). Kidney recipients were the patients with the best prognosis (OR 0.375; 95% CI 0.156–0.900). Our findings may help to identify SOT recipients with BSI who are at the highest risk of death.
Abstract Background Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. We sought to assess risk factors, clinical ...characteristics, and current outcomes of IFI in SOT recipients. Methods We reviewed all episodes of IFI occurring among SOT recipients in a university hospital from 2008 to 2011. To determine risk factors for IFI we carried out a matched case-control study (1:2 ratio). Control subjects were matched for transplant type and timing. Results We documented 20 episodes of IFI among 744 SOT recipients (2.7%). Sixty-five percent of cases were proven IFI and 35% were probable IFI. The types of IFI documented were aspergillosis in 8 cases, candidiasis in 7, pneumocystosis in 3, Emmonsia species in infection 1, and disseminated cryptococcosis in 1. Ninety-nine percent of the patients had received a prior antibiotic therapy (3 months), 40% presented allograft rejection (3 months), and 40% had prior kidney injury. Complications of IFI included septic shock (50%), respiratory failure (55%), multiple-organ dysfunction (55%), and intensive care unit (ICU) admission (50%). Median days from transplantation to diagnosis was 103 for candidiasis (range, 27–4644) and 1195 for aspergillosis (range, 0–4319). In a comparison of case patients with 40 matched control subjects, case patients more frequently presented prior ICU stay (3 months; P = .05), hemodialysis requirement ( P = .02), receipt of high-dose prednisone (6 months; P = .006), and prior antibiotic therapy ( P < .001). Prior use of antibiotic treatment was the only risk factor for IFI (odds ratio OR 93; 95% confidence interval CI, 8.3–1042). Case-fatality rate was 60%. Conclusions In our recent experience, 2.7% of SOT recipients developed IFI, mainly aspergillosis followed by candidiasis. Prior ICU admission, hemodialysis, receipt of high-dose prednisone, and prior antibiotic use were more frequent in cases when compared with control subjects, with the latter factor being the only independent risk factor for developing IFI. Case-fatality rate was high (60%).
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