Screening for tropical and imported infections in migrant kidney transplant candidates from the kidney transplant access consultation

• Published in: Nefrología 2024-07, Vol.44 (4), p.549-559
• Main Authors: Pedreira-Robles, Guillermo, Bach-Pascual, Anna, Collado-Nieto, Silvia, Padilla, Eduardo, Burballa, Carla, Arias-Cabrales, Carlos, Redondo-Pachón, Dolores, Sánchez, Francisca, Horcajada, Juan Pablo, Pascual, Julio, Crespo, Marta, Villar-García, Judit, Pérez-Sáez, María José
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Communicable Diseases, Imported - diagnosis; Communicable Diseases, Imported - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Imported infections; Infecciones importadas; Kidney transplant; Kidney Transplantation; Male; Mass Screening; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Referral and Consultation - statistics & numerical data; Serology; Serología; Strongyloidiasis - diagnosis; Strongyloidiasis - epidemiology; Transients and Migrants - statistics & numerical data; Trasplante renal; Tropical; Tropicales
• ISSN: 2013-2514; 2013-2514
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nefroe.2024.07.006

Kidney transplantation (KT) should be postponed in those people with active bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitic processes, since these must be treated and resolved previously. The objective of this study is to present the screening circuit implemented by the Nephrology clinic and describe the prevalence of tropical and imported infections in KT candidates born or coming from endemic areas. Descriptive cross-sectional study, carried out in 2021. Sociodemographic and clinical variables, serological data of general infections and specific tests of tropical infectious diseases were collected. A descriptive analysis of the data was carried out. 67 TR candidates from Latin America (32.8%), North Africa (22.4%), Sub-Saharan Africa (14.9%) and Asia (29.9%) were included. 68.7% were men and the mean age was 48.9 ± 13.5 years. After the general and specific studies, 42 (62.7%) patients were referred to the Infectious Diseases Service to complete this study or indicate treatment. 35.8% of the patients had eosinophilia, and in one case parasites were detected in feces at the time of the study. Serology for strongyloidiasis was positive in 18 (26.9%) cases, while positive serology for other tropical infections was hardly detected. 34.3% of patients had latent tuberculosis infection. The prevalence of tropical and imported infections in migrant candidates for RT was low, except for strongyloidiasis and latent tuberculosis infection. Its detection and treatment are essential to avoid serious complications in post-TR. To this end, the implementation of an interdisciplinary screening program from the KT access consultation is feasible, necessary and useful. El trasplante renal (TR) debe posponerse en aquellas personas con procesos bacterianos, fúngicos, virales y parasitarios activos, ya que éstos deben ser tratados y resueltos previamente. El objetivo de este estudio es presentar el circuito de cribado puesto en marcha desde la consulta de Nefrología y describir la prevalencia de infecciones tropicales e importadas en candidatos a TR nacidos o procedentes de áreas endémicas. Estudio descriptivo de corte transversal, llevado a cabo en el año 2021. Se recogieron variables sociodemográficas, clínicas, datos serológicos de infecciones generales y pruebas específicas de enfermedades infecciosas tropicales. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de los datos. Se incluyeron 67 candidatos a TR procedentes de América Latina (32,8%), África del Norte (22,4%), África Subsahariana (14