Lansang MC et al. (2006) The relationship between diabetes and infectious hospitalizations in renal transplant recipients. Diabetes Care 29: 1659–1660

Graft survival is worse in patients who develop post-kidney-transplantation diabetes mellitus (post-TDM) than in patients without diabetes mellitus (DM). Few studies, however, have investigated whether the risk of post-transplantation infection is higher in patients with DM. Lansang et al. have therefore investigated whether there is a relationship between DM and the risk of infection requiring hospitalization following a kidney transplant.

This study used data from 29,966 kidney transplant recipients included in the US Renal Data System. Patients were classified as non-DM (43%), pre-TDM (if DM was diagnosed before, or at the time of, hospitalization for transplantation; 42%) or post-TDM (15%). Patients with pre-TDM had a 43% higher risk of developing a post-transplantation infection requiring hospitalization than those without DM at the time of transplantation. Post-TDM patients showed a 77% higher risk of developing a post-transplantation infection requiring hospitalization than non-DM patients. The majority of infections were caused by bacteria, with septicemia being the most common type of bacterial infection.

This study supports the idea that DM is associated with worse clinical outcomes after transplantation, and, although a causal link was not established, the findings indicate that greater attention should be given to the management of pre-TDM and post-TDM.