[Opportunistic pneumonia after kidney transplantation].

This study was conducted to evaluate clinical features at the onset of pneumonia and the usefulness of methods for diagnosing pneumonia in patients who have undergone kidney transplantation. From January 1990 to December 1998. 174 kidney transplantations were performed, and were followed by 22 cases of pneumonia. Of the 22 pneumonia patients, 16 were male and 6 were female. The median age of the 22 patients was 37.2 +/- 13.3 years. All the patients received cyclosporin A and corticosteroids. In 11 cases, the organisms were identified in the microbiology or pathology laboratory, either during life or at autopsy. Six cases were due to Pneumocystis carinii (PC), three to PC and Cytomegalovirus (CMV), one to Aspergillus, and one resulted from miliary tuberculosis. Pneumonia occurred within 4 months after kidney transplantation in most cases. The mean interval between the transplantation and the appearance of pneumonia was 77.3 +/- 34.3 days, except in the cases of Aspergillosis and miliary tuberculosis, where the intervals were 46 and 50 months, respectively. The mean interval from the appearance of symptoms to the detection of pulmonary infiltration was 3.3 +/- 4.3 days. The clinical features present when pulmonary infiltration was detected by CT were fever (91%), cough (32%), and crackles (27%). However, at this time, 55% of the cases had no symptoms other than fever. Chest radiographs were positive for pulmonary infiltration in 64% of the cases at the same time that the pulmonary infiltrates were detected by CT. Eighty percent of the cases exhibited diffuse interstitial infiltrates. Organisms were detected in 7 of 9 cases examined with bronchofiberscopy (BF). But in only one of 13 cases that did not undergo BF. Increased values of serum beta-D-glucan were detected in the early phase of three PC pneumonia cases, suggesting that beta-D-glucan is useful as a marker of PC pneumonia. The use of bronchofiberscopy was more frequent in survivors of PC pneumonia than in non-survivors, whereas the mean age was higher and coexisting CMV infections were identified more frequently in the non-survivors. We concluded that fever is important as an initial symptom of pulmonary infection. In addition, we find that CT is very useful for the detection of interstitial infiltrates, and BF is an excellent method for detecting organisms in the pneumonia patient after kidney transplantation.