South Asian Transplant Infectious Disease Guidelines for Solid Organ Transplant Candidates, Recipients, and Donors

Kidney transplantation in patients on anti-tubercular therapy: A single centre observational study

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) is a common infection in chronic kidney disease. The prolonged therapy of TB can delay kidney transplantation in patients on antitubercular therapy (ATT).

METHODS

This was a retrospective single-center study to analyze the safety of kidney transplantation and its outcomes in patients undergoing transplantation while on the continuation phase of ATT.

RESULTS

Between 2013 and 2022, 30 patients underwent kidney transplantation while on ATT. Median age was 38 years and 70% were males. Majority of the patients (86.7%) had extrapulmonary tuberculosis, most common site of involvement being tubercular lymphadenitis. 14/30 patients had microbiological/histopathological diagnosis of TB and the rest were diagnosed by ancillary tests. Patients were treated with 4 drug ATT (isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, ethambutol) before transplantation for aminimum of 2 months. Post-transplantation fluoroquinolone-based non-rifamycin ATT was used (median duration 11 months). All patients completed therapy. At 2 years, there was 100% patient survival and 96.7% graft survival. Median eGFR at 6, 12, and 24 months post-transplantation was 71.9, 64.7, and 67 mL/min/1.73m2 , respectively. The percentage of patients suffering a biopsy proven acute rejection at 6, 12, and 24 months was 3.3%, 6.7%, and 6.7%.

CONCLUSION

Kidney transplantation can be done in patients with TB who have a satisfactory response to the intensive phase of the ATT. The decision for transplantation while on the continuation phase of ATT should be individualized. In our experience, there is excellent patient and graft survival in these patients with a low risk of failure of ATT or relapse of TB.

Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment of Infections in Kidney Transplantation

Kidney transplant often is complicated by infections in the recipient from therapy-related and patient-related risk factors. Infections in kidney transplant recipients are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and allograft dysfunction. There is a predictable timeline after kidney transplant regarding the types of pathogens causing infections, reflecting the net state of immunosuppression. In the early post-transplant period, bacterial infections comprise two thirds of all infections, followed by viral and fungal infections. Infections occurring early after kidney transplantation are generally the result of postoperative complications. In most cases, opportunistic infections occur within 6 months after kidney transplantation. They may be caused by a new infection, a donor-derived infection, or reactivation of a latent infection. Community-acquired pneumonia, upper respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, and gastrointestinal infections are the most common infections in the late period after transplantation when the net immunosuppression is minimal. It is crucial to seek information on the time after transplant, reflecting the net state of immunosuppression, previous history of exposure/infections, geography, and seasonal outbreaks. It is imperative that we develop regionally specific guidelines on screening, prevention, and management of infections after kidney transplantation.