Posttransplant Pneumonia Among Solid Organ Transplant Recipients Followed in Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Objectives: Pneumonia is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in solid-organ transplant recipients. We studied the demographic characteristics, respiratory management, and outcomes of solid-organ transplant recipients with pneumonia in an intensive care unit.

Materials and Methods: There have been 2857 kidney, 687 liver, and 142 heart transplants performed between October 16, 1985, and February 28, 2021, at our center. We retrospectively analyzed records for 51 of 193 recipients with pneumonia during the posttransplant period between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018.

Results: Fifty-one of 193 recipients were followed in the intensive care unit. Mean age was 45.4 +/- 16.6 years among 42 male (82.4%) and 9 female (17.6%) recipients. Twenty-six patients (51%) underwent kidney transplant, 14 (27.5%) liver transplant, 7 (13.7%) heart transplant, and 4 (7.8%) combined kidney and liver transplant. Most pneumonia episodes occurred 6 months after transplant (70.6%) with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. Mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation System II score was 18.9 +/- 7.7, and the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score was 8.5 +/- 3.9 at intensive care unit admission. Whereas 66.7% of pneumonia cases were nosocomial acquired, 33.3% were community acquired. The intensive care unit and 28-day mortality rates were 39.2% and 64.7%, respectively.

Conclusions: Solid-organ transplant recipients with pneumonia have been associated with poor prognosis. Our cohort followed in the intensive care unit comprised mostly patients with nosocomial pneumonia with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, hospitalized 6 months after transplant with high Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation System II scores predictive of mortality. In this high-risk patient group, careful follow-up, early discovery of warning signs, and rapid treatment initiation could improve the outcomes in the intensive care unit.