Acinetobacter baumannii infection in solid organ transplant recipients

Acinetobacter baumannii can cause serious infection in susceptible patients, but little has been published regarding risk factors for infection and outcomes in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients.

We identified A. baumannii infection among adult SOT recipients that occurred between January 2001 and March 31, 2008 at a Chicago transplant center and evaluated characteristics of these infections and outcomes.

Thirty-three individuals developed A. baumannii infection during the study period. Seventy-nine percent had healthcare-associated infection with respiratory tract as the most common site of infection (64%). Eighty-two percent of patients had received antibiotics within two wk prior to A. baumannii infection and multidrug resistance (MDR) or extensive resistance (XDR) occurred in 85%. The median time to onset of infection was five months after transplant. The 30-d mortality was 24% and was associated with XDR. Administration of an appropriate antibiotic within three d was associated with lower 30-d mortality (OR 0.16, p = 0.047). All isolates tested against colistin were susceptible.

SOT recipients with A. baumannii infection had high mortality associated with delay in appropriate antibiotic therapy and XDR organisms. The use of colistin-containing treatment regimens should be considered in these patients when A. baumannii infection is suspected or identified in patients who have received prior antibiotics.