Korean J Transplant.  2022 Sep;36(3):212-220. 10.4285/kjt.22.0036.

Nationwide survey of infection prevention protocols in solid organ transplantation in South Korea

• Huh K
• Jeong SJ
• Kim YJ
• Kang JM
• Kim JM
• Park WB
• Ahn HJ
• Yang J
• Kim SI
• Kwon OJ
• Kim MS
• Lee SO

• KMID: 2533959
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4285/kjt.22.0036

Abstract

Background
Infections are a major cause of morbidity, graft failure, and mortality in solid organ transplant recipients. Preventive measures have greatly reduced the burden of posttransplant infections. However, little is known about the practice patterns of in- fection prevention in South Korea.
Methods
A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted. The ques-tionnaire was developed by a multidisciplinary discussion. From the Korean Network for Organ Sharing data, a list of hospitals that performed kidney, liver, heart, and lung transplantations in 2019 was selected. We invited participants to respond to the ques-tionnaire via email from January to March 2022.
Results
The response rates for each organ were as follows; 41% (31/76 hospitals) for kidney, 49% (25/51) for liver, 40% (8/20) for heart, and 89% (8/9) for lung transplanta-tions. The median duration of antibacterial prophylaxis after transplant ranged from 5 to 7 days. Prophylaxis was commonly applied in cytomegalovirus (CMV) D+/R– recip-ients. For non-lung CMV R+ recipients, a preemptive strategy was the most common method. The duration of viral load monitoring for preemptive or hybrid strategies var- ied. All lung transplant programs used mold-active antifungal agents for a median of 6 months. An interferon-gamma release assay was most commonly used to screen for latent tuberculosis infections.
Conclusions
The infection prevention protocols in most transplant programs in Korea were generally in accordance with the guidelines. However, some variability was observed regarding antibacterial prophylaxis and CMV prevention. Our results pro-vide useful insights into practice patterns and will assist in the development of national guidelines.

Keyword

Transplantation; Prevention and control; Opportunistic infections; Surveys and questionnaires

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