Aspects of Pulmonary Infections After Solid Organ Transplantation.

The increasing number of solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients have high rates of pulmonary infections due to bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. These patients have unique sets of factors predisposing to infection. Lung and heart-lung transplants are associated with particularly high infection rates. The prominence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) as a pathogen in all subsets of SOT patients has led to new strategies for prophylaxis, detection, and treatment of CMV pneumonitis. Progress is similarly being made in managing fungal and bacterial infections. Advances in liver, kidney, heart, and lung transplantation are being discussed, with further attention to specific pathogens (ie, CMV, Aspergillus, Pneumocystis carinii, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis).