Pulmonary infections following solid organ transplantation

Solid organ transplantation is the standard of care for selected patients with severe vital organ dysfunction. The need for immunosuppression to prevent organ rejection is a common characteristic of recipients. Immunosuppression increases the risk of infections, especially with low virulence opportunistic pathogens. Infections following solid organ transplantation mainly affect the lungs and the airways. Establishing the diagnosis includes a wide spectrum of pulmonary diagnostics, high standard microbiological analysis and various imaging methods. With the improvement of treatment options, the number of kidney, liver, heart and lung transplant recipients is increasing and, therefore, more and more physicians may meet pulmonary complications in these patients.