Successful use of gentamycin as an antibiotic prophylaxis regimen to reduce the rate of healthcare-associated infections after renal transplantation

At our institution, we observed an increase in the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) due to Gram-negative bacilli, including three cases of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, among patients who underwent renal transplantation. In addition to strengthening infection control measures, we chose to add gentamycin to the antibiotic prophylaxis regimen of patients undergoing renal transplantation. We assessed the number of HAI occurring within 30 days of renal transplantation during two time periods: (1) the pre-intervention period, between September 2009 and June 2010, and (2) the post-intervention period, between July 2010 and April 2011. The intervention consisted of the addition of gentamycin to the surgical antibiotic prophylaxis regimen. The percentage of patients with HAIs was 31% lower during the post-intervention period (p = 0.03), with the greatest reductions observed for urinary tract infections (p = 0.024). Carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae was not isolated during this period. The investigated patients did not exhibit worsening renal function. Further studies are needed to assess antibiotic prophylaxis in renal transplantation patients at institutions where there is a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.