Risk of pneumococcal infections in renal transplant patients

Abstract

Because of the recent licensing of pneumococcal vaccine, the risk of pneumococcal infections on a renal transplant service was determined. The overall risk of infection was 7% (14 of 197 patients) over a 6 yr period or 1%/yr. In patients with functioning allografts, this represented a risk of 28 infections/1000 patient-yr of follow-up. Clinically, the major presentations of pneumococcal infection were pneumonia in the patient who was rejecting his kidney and pneumococcemia of sudden onset that was often fatal. Five of the pneumococci isolated from bacteremic patients were typed; 3 of the isolates were types that are in the vaccine. The frequency and seriousness of pneumococcal infections in renal transplant patients suggest that pneumococcal vaccine should be given to these patients, probably before transplantation.