Invasive fungal infection in liver transplant recipients in a prophylactic era: A multicenter retrospective cohort study in Korea

Abstract

The epidemiology of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) after liver transplantation (LT) is continuing to evolve in the current era of antifungal prophylactic therapy. This multicenter retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology, risk factors, and outcomes of IFIs among LT recipients in the current era.We analyzed a total of 482 LT recipients aged 18 years and older who were admitted to 3 tertiary hospitals in Korea between January 2009 and February 2012.Twenty-four episodes of IFIs occurred in 23 patients (4.77%; 23/482). Of these episodes, 20 were proven cases and 4 were probable cases according to EORTC/MSG criteria. Among these cases, IFI developed within 30 days of transplantation in 47.8% of recipients, from 31 to 180 days in 34.8% of recipients, and from 181 to 365 days in 17.4% of recipients. The most common isolates were Candida species (n = 12, 52.2%; Candida albicans, 6 cases; Candida tropicalis, 1 case; Candida glabrata, 1 case; Candida parapsilosis, 1 case; and unspecified Candida species, 1 case) and Aspergillus species (n = 7, 30.4%). The mortality in patients with IFIs was significantly higher than that in patients without IFIs (47.83% [11/23] vs 7.18% [33/459], P < .001). The incidence of late-onset IFIs is increasing in the antifungal prophylactic era, and fluconazole-resistant non-albicans Candida species have not yet emerged in Korea.