Pulmonary infections in transplantation pathology

Pulmonary infections are common and often life-threatening in solid organ and stem cell transplant recipients. Understanding their pathology is critical to making improvements in care and survival as well as in surgical techniques, immunosuppression management, prophylaxis, and treatment. Pulmonary infections are particularly common and serious in the susceptible population of lung transplant recipients.

To summarize recent updates in the field for opportunistic infections and some common pathogens, and to consider the role of the diagnostic pulmonary histopathologist as well as advances in molecular diagnosis.

This work is based on a selected review of the relevant medical and scientific literature, with emphasis on lung transplantation experience gained during 2 decades of practice.

Pulmonary infections in transplant recipients present a diagnostic challenge and are a continuing source of mortality and morbidity despite improvement in prophylaxis and treatment. Accurate diagnosis requires multidisciplinary input from clinicians, radiologists, and pathology disciplines as well as complementary molecular methods.