New issues in bacterial infections in solid organ transplant recipients

Bacterial infections continue to be major causes of morbidity and mortality in solid organ transplant recipients despite the overall success attributed to improved surgical techniques, immunosuppressive regimens, and prophylactic regimens. The rate of emergence of multidrug resistance in gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria is alarming and requires aggressive infection control measures and judicious use of antimicrobial agents. Infections with nontuberculous mycobacteria and Nocardia species are also a current concern. In select cases, organ procurement from donors with meningitis (and other bacterial infections) can be considered as a way to expand the donor pool.