Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis in pancreas transplant recipients

Jennifer Trofe, K. S. Reddy, R. J. Stratta, S. D. Flax, K. T. Somerville, R. R. Alloway, M. F. Egidi, M. H. Shokouh-Amiri, A. O. Gaber

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Human ehrlichioses are tick-borne infections caused by bacteria in the genus Ehrlichia of the family Rickettsiaceae. To date there have been three cases of ehrlichiosis reported in the transplant population, a human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) infection in a liver transplant recipient and two cases of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) in kidney transplant recipients. We report three pancreas transplant patients who developed HGE in the last two years at a single southeastern center in the United States. All three patients had clinical, laboratory, and pathophysiologic findings on bone marrow biopsy and peripheral blood smears consistent with HGE, and responded to doxycycline therapy. In the setting of potent immunosuppression, ehrlichiosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of transplant patients presenting with persistent fever, pancytopenia, and abnormal liver function. Patients with ehrlichiosis infection may be at risk for developing other opportunistic infections or lymphoproliferative disease.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)34-39
Number of pages6
JournalTransplant Infectious Disease
Volume3
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001

Keywords

  • Ehrlichiosis
  • Immunosuppression
  • Opportunistic infections
  • Pancreas transplantation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Transplantation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis in pancreas transplant recipients'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this