Abstract
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common post-renal transplant complications. During the first month post-transplantation, bacterial septicemia due to UTIs is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. The incidence, risk factors and causative bacteria of UTIs were assessed in 27 renal transplant recipients (RTRs). Bacterial UTI was diagnosed based on urine culture that was positive for bacterial growth greater than 105 colony-forming unit (CFU)/ml. The average age of the participants was 41.3±16.2 years, ranging from 16 to 73 years. Male RTRs were 51.9% (N = 14) and females were 48.1% (N = 13). Patients who received kidneys from living-related donors were 63.0% (N = 17) and those who received cadaveric kidneys were 27.0% (N = 10). Incidence of urinary tract infections post-renal transplant was 55.5% (N = 15). Gender (69.2% of the female RTRs developed UTI versus 30.8% of the males) and age (66.7% of the RTRs ≥ 50 years developed UTI) seemed to be risk factors for post-renal transplant UTIs. Escherichia coli was the most common pathogen (53.3%, N = 8) followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20%, N = 3). Most of the UTIs (73.3%) were detected within one month post-renal transplant. Recurrent infection was observed in 40.1% of the patients. The implication of this study is the need to implement a new prophylaxis regimen that takes into consideration the causative bacteria and its antibiotic sensitivity.
Key words: Urinary tract infection, kidney, transplant, incidence, Escherichia coli.
