Current Challenges and Advances on Infectious Diseases in Solid Organ Transplantation

Abstract

This review article highlights the current challenges and advances on infectious disease in solid organ transplantation, along with its epidemiology and factors leading to the infections during transplant. High-profile cases of infectious diseases transmitted from organ donors to transplant recipients, such as the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, have driven policy globally. Many nations have or are developing regulations requiring reporting and investigation of such disease transmissions as part of broader bio vigilance programs for all substances of human origin. The relatively recent availability of quantitative molecular and antibody-based diagnostic assays has facilitated such early diagnoses and these are now used routinely in transplant infectious disease management. To review and assess the available data on the advances in infectious diseases during solid organ transplantation and drawing conclusions on how to reduce the chances of infection during transplant. Review articles selected for cross-sectional studies conducted lately in various hospitals globally. A search of the medical literature for all papers published from January 1960 through September 2000 was conducted with use of the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Pub Med (National Library of Medicine) databases. The literature had data from a few transplant centers on coccidioidomycosis and solid organ transplantation. In another study, cases of post transplantation histoplasmosis were identified by use of multiple methods, including reviews of microbiology test results, transplant databases, and billing codes. Data were obtained retrospectively. Descriptive statistics were used. Another research conducted a prospective, multi center study of SOT recipients with pulmonary cryptococcosis during 1999–2006. One retrospective case-control study was also performed for invasive aspergillosis in patients recruited from 11 Spanish centers since the start of the centers’ transplantation programs. Another matched case-controlled study was conducted where SOT recipients with zygomycosis were prospectively studied. The primary outcome measure was success (complete or partial response) at 90 days.