Routine Donor and Recipient Screening for Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma Species in Lung Transplant Recipients

Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, and Ureaplasma parvum may cause post-transplant infections in lung transplant recipients. We evaluated routine pretransplant screening for these Mollicutes.

We retrospectively reviewed records of lung transplant recipients at our tri-site institution from 01/01/2015 to 11/15/2019. M. hominis and/or Ureaplasma polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on pretransplant recipient urine specimens and donor bronchial swabs at the time of transplantation. Development of Mollicute infection and hyperammonemia syndrome (HS) was recorded.

A total of 268 patients underwent lung transplantation during the study period, of whom 105 were screened with at least 1 Mollicute PCR. Twelve (11%) screened positive; 10 donors, 1 recipient, and 1 both. Among positive donors, 3 were positive for M. hominis, 5 for U. urealyticum, and 4 for U. parvum. Preemptive therapy included doxycycline, levofloxacin, and/or azithromycin administered for 1-12 weeks. Despite therapy, 1 case of M. hominis mediastinitis and 1 case of HS associated with Ureaplasma infection occurred, both donor-derived. Of those screened before transplant, cases with positive screening were more likely (P < 0.05) to develop Mollicute infection despite treatment (2/12, 17%) than those who screened negative (1/93, 1%).

Pretransplant recipient urine screening had a low yield and was not correlated with post-transplant Mollicute infection, likely because most M. hominis and U. parvum/urealyticum infections in lung transplant recipients are donor-derived. Routine donor bronchus swab PCR for M. hominis, U. urealyticum, and U. parvum followed by preemptive therapy did not obviously impact the overall incidence of Mollicute infection or HS in this cohort.