Purpose: Viral infections represent a serious threat for patients after liver transplantation (LT). The identification of risk factors during the early post-transplant period might help to improve prevention of viral infections after LT.
Methods: Between 2004 and 2010, 530 adult patients underwent LT at a large university hospital serving a metropolitan region in Europe. This retrospective single-centre study analysed putative risk factors for early viral infections with herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), hepatitis A/B/C (HAV/HBV/HCV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) in the first 3 months after LT.
Results: The final analysis included 501 patients of whom 126 (25.1%) had documented viral infections after LT. No significant differences could be detected between patients with or without viral infections concerning 30- and 90-day mortality. Risk factors in the early post-transplant period identified by multivariate analysis included female gender (CMV, HSV-1), the post-operative need for continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CMV), septic shock (CMV), detection of fungi (CMV) and the intraoperative amount of transfused blood (EBV).
Conclusions: Enhanced vigilance regarding opportunistic infections is crucial in the management of this high-risk population of immunocompromised patients. In particular, attention should be paid to avoidable conditions that increase the risk of renal replacement therapies in the post-LT setting, especially among women.
Trial registration: DRKS00010672 on German Clinical Trial Register.
Keywords: Early post-transplant period; Gender; Immunosuppression; Opportunistic infections; Renal replacement.