Skin infections in renal transplant recipients

Skin infection is a frequent complication in renal transplant recipients. The purpose of the study was to acquire long-term, period-specific incidence data on the most commonly occurring skin infections in renal transplant recipients.

A retrospective analysis was performed using medical records of 134 patients, covering a period between 10 and 29 yr. Cumulative incidences of the skin infections were calculated by counting the infections per patient for different time periods and were expressed as a percentage of the total group of patients. The incidence of the skin infections was determined for different post-transplant time periods.

A total of 340 skin infections in 105 out of 134 patients were recorded. Some infections, such as candidal infection, herpes simplex infection, and impetigo were most prominent during the first post-transplant year and did not affect many new patients after the first year. Other infections, such as dermatomycoses, herpes zoster, and folliculitis were also affecting a substantial number of new patients after the first post-transplant year.

This study confirms that skin infections among renal transplant recipients are very common and that the spectrum of skin infections differs according to the post-transplant time period.