Investigation of Post-transplant Early Infections and Their Risk Factors

Identification of common infections and their effective factors among transplant recipients plays a major role in prevention and control of these disorders. This study aimed to survey post-transplant early infections and their major risk factors.
This prospective study was performed on 582 transplanted patients in Namazi transplant center from 2011 to 2013. These patients were followed up regarding the incidence of any kind of infection through Para clinical experiments for 6 months after transplantation. The patients who referred with clinical symptoms were followed, as well. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software, version 19.
In this study, 140 patients experienced 194 types of infections during 6 months, 106 of whom had 133 kinds of infections which were mostly bacterial within the first month. Besides, 50 patients experienced 61 types of infections between the first and the sixth month. Bacterial infections comprised most of the cases within the first 6 months after transplantation. Among the risk factors, length of hospital stay (P=0.048 and OR=1.018) and MELD score (P=0.044 and OR=1.035) were significantly associated with post-transplant infections.
The study findings showed that MELD score and length of hospital stay were significantly related to increase in the incidence of post-transplant early infections. Besides, most of these infections occurred within the first month after transplantation due to treatment processes and hospital infections. After the first month, opportunistic infections were common among the patients. By knowing these common infections and their risk factors, we can increase the readiness of the transplantation team for preventing and controlling these infections.