Tuberculosis in solid organ transplant patients

Abstract

Tuberculosis is an opportunistic infection with high morbidity and mortality in solid organ transplant patients. The reasons for this high morbidity and mortality lie mostly in diagnostic difficulties, which cause delays in starting treatment, and associated pharmaceutical toxicity. There are still major issues and difficulties in managing tuberculosis in solid organ transplant patients. These include problems due to interactions between antituberculosis and immunosuppressant drugs, the high risk of toxicity of antituberculosis drugs (particularly in liver transplant patients) and the absence of clear indications for the treatment of latent tuberculous infection. This article updates current understanding of tuberculosis in solid organ transplant patients.