Contamination of the Preservation Solution in Solid Organ Transplantation

Preservation solutions (PS), in which grafts for patients undergoing liver transplantation are stored, represent a medium suitable for microorganism growth and a potential source for transmission of pathogenic germs to the transplant recipients. The aim of the present study was to review the relevant literature for the incidence and predictors of positive microbiological findings in the PS.

We performed a literature review of publications on bacterial and fungal contamination of PS during cold organ storage focusing on its impact on bacteremia and/or nosocomial infection of the recipient.

Overall 19 studies were reviewed, published between the years 2000 and 2016, that encompassed a total of 5647 patients. Positive cultures were identified in 1428 patients (25%). The documentation of bacteremia showed a wide deviation with documented ranges between 0% and 69%. Data on the identification of same species or of related nosocomial infections were only sparsely available; same species were found in a rate of 0% to 8%, and nosocomial infections were attributed to them in an incidence of 0% to 19%.

Our study underlines both the limited published data and the contradictory available information on contamination of preservation solution in solid organ transplantation, not allowing for any recommendations. The necessity for prospective, multicentric studies on this topic is mandatory.