Infectious Complications in Kidney Transplant Recipients: Review of the Literature

Since the initial successful kidney transplantation in humans, the field of renal transplantation has made significant progress. Patient survival and graft survival have improved tremendously. Our armamentarium of immunosuppressive drugs and antimicrobial agents has expanded, as our understanding of their effects and proper utilization. Enhanced surgical techniques also improved the overall survival of kidney recipients. However, infectious complications remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in this patient population. In this article, we provide an overview of infections in kidney transplant recipients, a detailed illustration of specific infectious agents with a focus on cytomegalovirus, and finally we lay some general principles for limiting the burden of infectious complications in kidney transplants through proper infection control measures.