[Risk factors for bloodstream infections in liver or kidney transplantation recipients]

To investigate the possible risk factors for death among liver or kidney recipients with bloodstream infections (BSIs).

A retrospective study of 138 episodes of bloodstream infections documented in 103 patients was conducted to assess potential risk factors for mortality. The risk factors were identified by logistic regression analysis.

The mean age of the patients was 12-66 (42.3±12.7) years. The majority of infections were nosocomial (78.6%). The BSIs-related mortality rate was 39.8% (41/103). The following variables were identified as risk factors for BSIs-related mortality by univariate analysis: intraabdominal/ biliary focus (P=0.003), polymicrobial infection (P<0.001), liver transplant (P<0.001), platelet count <50000/mm3 (P<0.001), and septic shock (P<0.001). Platelet count < 50000/mm3 (P=0.002) and septic shock (P<0.001) showed significantly difference between the mortality group and the survival groups in the multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Decreased platelet count and septic shock are risk factors for increased