Urinary tract infections after renal transplantation: do they matter?

The effect of urinary tract infections on renal function was assessed in 86 patients with renal allografts that had functioned for more than one year. Follow-up periods ranged from one to 10 years. Recurrent or persistent urinary sepsis was quite common in these long-term survivors but had no observable effect on graft function or survival of patients or grafts. Treatment of asymptomatic urinary tract infections was largely unsuccessful. Probably such infections may be safely ignored.