Infections in the first year of living related kidney transplantation in a young transplant cohort

BACKGROUND: Infection after a kidney transplant is a serious cause of morbidity and mortality. Weighing the risks and benefits of immunosuppression is of paramount importance for patient wellbeing and transplant survival. METHODS: This is a prospective observational study exploring the variety of bacterial, viral and fungal infections occurring within the first year of living related kidney transplantation in a young transplant cohort. Fifty-one kidney transplant recipients (KTR) between the age of 18 and 45 who had a kidney transplant between Jan 2020 and Jan 2022 were enrolled and followed up for one year. Primary outcome was the occurrence of infection. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients (47%) recorded a collective 33 episodes of infection. Seven patients had repeated infections and 17 had single infections. Twenty-seven patients had an uneventful year with no infections recorded. Commonest infection was lower urinary tract infection (UTI) (27.3%) followed by SARS-COV2 and Herpes Zoster (15.2%). The commonest pathogens causing lower UTI were Escherichia coli (E coli) (21.2%) and Klebsiella (18.2%). Median Tacrolimus level was (7.8) ng/ml in KTR with infection and (8.95) ng/ml in KTR without infection, p = 0.21. Median Haemoglobin (IQR) was (10.2) g/dl (7.8–14) gm/dl in KTR with infection compared to (10.8) g/dl (7.3–15.3) in KTR without infection odds ratio (OR) = 0.78, confidence interval (CI) (0.5–1.1); p = 0.16.In KTR with infection 25% had donors above the age of 60 compared to 11% in KTR without infection ( OR 2.6,CI (0.5–12), p = 0.2). Post transplant diabetes (PTDM) occurred in (25%) in KTR with infection compared to those without, but that was not statistically significant p = 0. 365.In KTR without infection, 59.3% had a preemptive transplant compared to 20.8% in the group with infection (OR = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.052–0.631; p = 0.007). Median tacrolimus was 7.8 ng/ml in KTR with single infection compared to 7.7 ng/ml in KTR with repeated infections. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the commonest infection occurring in the first-year post kidney transplant was lower urinary tract infection followed by SARS-COV2 and Herpes Zoster. There was no difference in trough tacrolimus or haemoglobin levels between KTR who developed infection with those who did not. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12882-023-03379-9.