Infection-related mortality in a large cohort of renal transplant recipients

Infections represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality among renal transplant recipients. Our aim was to analyze the incidence and etiology of infection-related mortality among a large cohort of renal transplant recipients.

From 1995 to 2004, we collected all causes of mortality among patients receiving a renal transplantation. The date of transplant, the last follow-up/death, type of transplant, age, and cause of death were tabulated into a database. The incidence rate of mortality was calculated in events per 10,000 transplant months.

Among the 1218 renal transplants performed in the study period the causes of mortality were: cardiovascular, 65 (38%); infection, 49 (29%); cancer, 21 (12%); other causes, 18 (10.5%); and unknown, 18 (10.5%). Infection-related mortality were: sepsis = 17 (35%), bacterial pneumonia = 9 (18%), abdominal bacterial infection = 2 (4%), invasive viral infection = 12 (24%), and invasive fungal infection = 9 (18%). There were no differences in the global causes of mortality according to the year of transplantation. The incidence rate of infection-related mortality was higher among aged patients and similar to cardiovascular-related mortality. Comparing the periods 1995 to 1999 with 2000 to 2004, bacterial infection-related mortality remained stable (57% vs 57%), while viral infection-related mortality decreased (31% vs 7%) and fungal infection-related mortality increased (11% vs 36%; P = .06).

In the last decade, infection-related mortality among renal transplant recipients has not decreased. Although better control of invasive viral infections has been achieved, bacterial and fungal invasive infections remain important causes of mortality in this population.