Kidney Transplantation From Infected Donors With Particular Emphasis on Multidrug-Resistant Organisms: A Single-Center Cohort Study.

Abstract

Prevention of sepsis-related organ dysfunction in septic donors is crucial. In this study, septic donors were followed-up based on donor Sequential Organ Failure Assessment criteria. Between January 2014 and 2020 at our center, 29 primary kidney transplant recipients received organs from 20 septic donors. All donors received either pathogen-specific or broad-spectrum antibiotics at least 48 hours before procurement, and all recipients received similar treatment posttransplant for an average of 7 to 14 days. Donor eligibility was determined according to the sum of donor-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores obtained from 6 parameters: Pao2/Fio2 ratio; platelet count; serum bilirubin, creatinine, and lactate levels; and presence of hypotension. The cut-off value for bacteremic donor acceptance was below 12 points. Fever (≥38 °C) persisted in 5 donors in the last 24 hours before organ removal. However, in these 5 donors, the mean donor-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score was 6.5 ± 1.1, mean arterial pressure was >70 mm Hg, and serum lactate levels were <2 mmol/L. Fifteen donors had systemic inflammatory response syndrome scores of ≤2 with corresponding donor-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores of 7.9 ± 1.2; none had systemic inflammatory response syndrome scores >3, which would have indicated severe organ failure. In 28 recipients (97%), no donor-related infections were observed in the perioperative first month and afterwards. Treatment of donors and recipients with a common protocol greatly reduced the risk of donor-induced infection transmission. In addition, we found the donor-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment criteria to be a helpful tool in predicting organ failure in infected donors.