Infectious complications after heart transplantation in Chinese recipients.
Several factors appear to influence the incidence and type of infectious complications among different populations of transplant recipients. This study sought to assess the incidence and type of infection after transplantation in Chinese heart allograft recipients. A total of 130 infectious episodes occurred in 192 consecutive heart transplantation patients between June 1993 and May 2004. The median length of follow-up was 46.7+/-38.4 months. The 1-, 5- and 10-year survival rates were 81.8+/-2.8%, 63.0+/-3.8% and 45.7+/-7.7%. Infection was the leading cause of early and late deaths. Of the infectious episodes, 66 (51%) were caused by bacteria, 35 (27%) by viruses, 10 (8%) by fungi, 7 (5%) by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 12 (9%) by other pathogens. The most common bacterial infectious episodes were caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (20 of 66). The most common viral infections were varicella zoster virus infection in 12 (34%), cytomegalovirus infection in 9 (26%) and hepatitis B virus infection in 8 (23%). There was only one episode of clinical syndrome compatible to Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia. In conclusion, there was low incidence of Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia and cytomegalovirus infection, and high incidence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in Chinese heart allograft recipients.
Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and Far-Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Ron-Bin
RB
Hsu
Chi-Tai
CT
Fang
Shan-Chwen
SC
Chang
Nai-Kuan
NK
Chou
Wen-Je
WJ
Ko
Shoei-Shen
SS
Wang
Shu-Hsun
SH
Chu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*