Impact of Urinary Tract Infections in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A 4-Year Single-Center Experience

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most frequent bacterial infection in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs), yet little is known about the impact of severe UTIs. We aimed to explore the burden of severe UTIs post renal transplant on both graft function and health care resources. We conducted a retrospective review of KTRs with severe UTI warranting hospital admission at our center between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2015. We identified 198 UTI-related hospital admissions in 83 KTRs representing 7.4% of transplant admissions; 44.6% were men and 45 (54.2%) had recurrent admissions. The most commonly isolated pathogens were E coli (47.5%) and Klebsiella (16.2%): extended-spectrum β-lactamase–producing organisms were detected in 31.3% of Klebsiella and in 25.5% of E coli. During UTI, the median serum creatinine increased from 126 to 196.5 μmol/L, then decreased to 149 and 161 μmol/L 3 months and 1 year after UTI, respectively. Acute kidney injury complicated 40.9% of UTIs (23.7% stage 1, 12.1% stage 2, 5.1% stage 3), with no significant difference between single and recurrent admission groups (χ2 = 0.36, P = .5). The 1-year mortality and death-censored graft loss were 1.2% and 3.6%, respectively. The median length of hospital stay was 4 days (286 days per annum) and the estimated annual cost was £87,665 ($117,347). UTI post renal transplant represents a substantial burden on health care resources and patient morbidity in terms of acute kidney injury and deterioration in graft function. Thus, applying proper preventative and management strategies is paramount. •Severe urinary tract infection (UTI) is an important cause of hospital admission after kidney transplant with high recurrence rate.•The post-transplant UTI represents significant burden on health care services.•Severe UTI post kidney transplant has deleterious impact on graft function.•It is paramount to apply protective strategies against UTI in kidney transplant recipients.•A recommended clinical pathway can be followed to investigate patients with severe post-transplant UTI.