An Approach to a Pulmonary Infiltrate in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

Padrões tomográficos de agentes etiológicos da pneumonia durante o primeiro ano após transplante renal

Objective:

To evaluate the tomography patterns of pneumonia attributed to various etiological agents during the first year after kidney transplantation.

Materials and Methods:

We analyzed the medical records of 956 patients who underwent kidney transplantation between 2013 and 2018 at a transplant center in northeastern Brazil. Among the kidney transplant recipients who developed pneumonia, the etiologic agents were categorized as pyogenic bacteria, mycobacteria, fungi, viruses, or polymicrobial pneumonia. The tomography patterns were categorized as consolidation, bronchopneumonia, interstitial pneumonia, or nodules/masses. To determine the statistical association between the causative microorganism and the tomography pattern, we used Fisher’s exact test, for which the level of significance was set at p < 0.001.

Results:

Among 101 cases of pneumonia reported in kidney transplant recipients, the etiologic agent was identified in 60 (59.4%), the most common category being pyogenic bacteria, which were implicated in 22 cases (36.7%). Among the 60 patients in whom had the causal agent was identified, the pattern in which nodules and masses predominated was the most common, being identified in 25 cases (41.7%). We detected associations between pyogenic bacteria and consolidation, between fungi and nodules/masses, and between viruses and interstitial pneumonia.

Conclusion:

There were statistical associations between tomography patterns and the microorganisms that cause pneumonia. This knowledge could facilitate the treatment planning for kidney transplant patients.

Utility of Mean Platelet Volume to Diagnose Pneumonia in Patients With Solid-Organ Transplant

OBJECTIVES

Despite improved success with solid-organ transplant procedures, recipients remain at risk for infections, including pneumonia, due to their immunosuppressive regimens. In solid-organ transplant patients, clinical findings of pneumonia can be nonspecific, and diagnosis of pneumonia may be difficult as several conditions (drug lung, hypervolemia, infections, hemorrhage) can led to pulmonary infiltrates, mimicking pneumonia in these patients. The role of mean platelet volume, a predictor of inflammatory disease, with elevated values inversely correlated with inflammatory problems, in the diagnosis of pneumonia has not yet been investigated in solid-organ transplant patients. Here, we retrospectively investigated mean platelet volume in diagnosis of pneumonia in transplant patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Medical records of solid-organ transplant patients from 2011 to 2016 were reviewed for demographic, clinical, radiographic, laboratory, and microbiology data. Transplant type, immunosuppressive drugs, and clinical outcomes were noted. Pneumonia diagnosis was based on clinical respiratory symptoms and signs, imaging findings, positive microbiological tests, pathologic findings, laboratory findings, or effective clinical treatment trials.

RESULTS

Our study included 70 patients (47 male/23 female; mean age of 46 ± 14 years), comprising 26 liver and 44 renal transplant recipients. Pneumonia was diagnosed radiologically in 30 patients (42.9%), with procalcitonin positive in 11 patients (36.7%), C-reactive protein elevated in 29 patients (96.7%), and leukocytes increased in 6 patients (20%). When laboratory measurements were compared with mean platelet volume, mean platelet volume values were significantly lower in patients with pneumonia who had elevated procalcitonin levels (P = .038).

CONCLUSIONS

We found that mean platelet volume for diagnosis of pneumonia in solid-organ transplant patients was not a promising tool. Considering the difficulties in caring for transplant patients with pulmonary infiltrates, clinical decisions should be based on clinical, laboratory, microbiological, and radiologic findings.