Predictors of postoperative infectious complications in liver transplant recipients: experience of 185 consecutive cases.
- Author:
Seungjin LIM
1
;
Eun Jung KIM
;
Tae Beom LEE
;
Byung Hyun CHOI
;
Young Mok PARK
;
Kwangho YANG
;
Je Ho RYU
;
Chong Woo CHU
;
Su Jin LEE
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Liver transplantation; Infection; Risk factors
- MeSH: Bacteria; Enterococcus; Escherichia coli; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Intraabdominal Infections; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Klebsiella; Liver Diseases; Liver Transplantation; Liver*; Logistic Models; Medical Records; Mortality; Prognosis; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Transplant Recipients*
- From:The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine 2018;33(4):798-806
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND/AIMS: Infections following liver transplant (LT) remain a major cause of mortality. This study was conducted to evaluate risk factors for infection and to review clinical characteristics. METHODS: Medical records of patients who underwent LT from 2010 to 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to investigate risk factors of infection. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to predict prognosis of infected and non-infected groups. RESULTS: Of 185 recipients, 89 patients experienced infectious complications. The median follow-up period was 911 days (range, 9 to 2,031). The infected group had higher 1-year mortality (n = 22 [24.7%] vs. n = 8, [8.3%], p = 0.002), and longer postoperative admission days (mean: 53.7 ± 35.8 days vs. 28.3 ± 13.0 days, p < 0.001), compared to the non-infected group. High preoperative Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score (odds ratio [OR], 1.057; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.010 to 1.105; p = 0.016), deceased-donor type (OR, 5.475; 95% CI, 2.442 to 12.279; p < 0.001), and acute rejection (OR, 3.042; 95% CI, 1.241 to 7.454; p = 0.015) were independent risk factors associated with infection. Intra-abdominal infection (n = 35, 20.8%) was the major infectious complication. Among identified bacteria, Enterococcus species (28.4%) were major pathogens, followed by Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species. CONCLUSIONS: High preoperative MELD score, deceased-donor type, and acute rejection were risk factors associated with infection. To prevent infections following surgery, it is important to determine the appropriate time of operation before the recipient has a high MELD score.
