Focus on Pneumonia After Organ Transplantation: Is There a Need for Specific Medical Care in the Emergency Department?

• Published in: Transplantation proceedings 2024-05, Vol.56 (4), p.957-960
• Main Authors: Kawecki, Dariusz, Majewska, Anna, Czerwiński, Jarosław
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Emergency Service, Hospital; Female; Hospitalization; Humans; Length of Stay; Male; Middle Aged; Organ Transplantation - adverse effects; Pneumonia - etiology
• ISSN: 0041-1345; 1873-2623; 1873-2623
• DOI: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2024.04.002

•Diagnosis of pneumonia remains a challenge for clinicians in the emergency department.•Patients with pneumonia and a history of solid organ transplantation are admitted as a priority from the emergency department to the hospital wards.•Post-transplant patients with pneumonia have prolonged hospitalization. Pneumonia is a major cause of hospitalization and has a substantial impact on health care costs. Diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia in solid organ transplant (SOT) patients remain a challenge for clinicians in the emergency department. This study aimed to evaluate demographic features, clinical patterns, history of hospitalization, and diagnosis of adult patients after organ(s) transplantation (liver, kidney, pancreas) with severe pneumonia requiring hospitalization. The aim is to determine whether patients undergoing SOT receive or require specific care and whether they need to be prioritized. This was a single-center observational study of adult patients after SOT with severe pneumonia requiring hospitalization. The data set for the analysis included only patients with pneumonia as the main reason for hospitalization. The diagnosis of pneumonia was suspected based on the American Thoracic Society criteria. The study revealed that the standard of care for patients with a history of SOT did not significantly differ from care provided to the non-SOT patients with pneumonia admitted to the same hospital during a 94-week period. There were notable differences, such as post-transplant patients being transferred more quickly to the hospital ward, having longer hospital stays, and receiving antibiotics earlier than the non-SOT group.