Bacterial and fungal infections after kidney transplantation.

Infectious diseases in renal transplant recipients are a major issue both from the medical and from the economical point of view. The major risk factor is the immunosuppressive therapy. Infections observed during the first weeks after transplantation are not different from those observed in nonimmunosuppressed patients after surgery. Infections with opportunistic pathogens, however, emerge at the beginning of the second month and are mainly determined by the allograft function.