Infectious complications after pancreas allotransplantation

Simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation, pancreas after kidney transplantation, and pancreas transplantation alone are associated with significant morbidities related to infectious diseases. A wide spectrum of potential pathogens may infect solid organ transplant recipients and many of them are infrequent in normal hosts. Despite significant improvement in antimicrobial prophylaxis, infectious complications continue to pose substantial burden, including length of initial hospital stay, need for repeat hospitalization, impact on patient and graft survival, and increased health-care costs. Urinary tract infections, surgical site infections, and CMV infections are the most frequent. However, virtually any pathogen may be responsible of infectious complications and therefore pretransplant screening and posttransplant follow-up with the support of a transplant infectious disease physician are crucial for the management of these complications.