Liver Transplantation Without Systemic Antifungal Prophylaxis-An Exceptional Perspective from a Single Center Experience.

Background

Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) after liver transplantation (LT) remain a concern. No universal protocol for antifungal prophylaxis in LT exists. Antifungal prophylaxis varies across European centers. Studies suggest risk stratification for prophylaxis. This study assessed IFI frequency and outcomes in adult LT recipients without antifungal prophylaxis and evaluated risk stratification for predicting IFIs. Method: A retrospective analysis of clinical and microbiological data from 244 liver transplant patients focused on IFI within 100 days post-transplantation. Of these, 225 (92%) had right liver transplants from living donors. We assessed two risk stratification models for predicting IFI: one categorizes patients into low- and high-risk groups, and the other divides patients into three categories, with two eligible for prophylaxis and one not.

Results

Of 244 patients, 3% (seven individuals) developed invasive fungal infections (IFI), including two aspergillosis and five candidiasis. IFI occurred in 8% of high-risk and 2% of low-risk patients in the first stratification, with no significant difference between groups (p = 0.144). In the second stratification, IFI was found in 4% of the target and 2% of non-target groups, without a significant difference (p = 0.455). Patients with IFI showed higher mean MELD scores of 21.71 ± 2.35 versus 17.04 ± 6.48 in those without IFI (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

This study evaluated IFI outcomes without systemic antifungal prophylaxis in LT recipients. Limited antifungal use in a major living liver donor transplantation (LDLT) group, with low MELD scores and immunosuppression protocols, could be feasible. Future multicenter studies can improve understanding and develop prophylaxis algorithms for LT settings.