Liver transplantation is currently the only effective curative treatment for end-stage liver disease. In recent years, with advancements in liver transplantation surgery and anti-rejection drugs, the incidence of surgical complications and organ rejection has gradually decreased. Conversely, transplant-related infections have increasingly become a major factor affecting the prognosis of transplant recipients. Furthermore, due to the progress in critical life support technologies, the time spent in the donor’s intensive care unit (ICU) has been extended, and post-transplant infections originating from the donor, especially donor-derived infection (DDI), have become one of the primary sources of infection for recipients. Studies have shown that infections in liver transplant recipients are often caused by Gram-negative pathogens, particularly carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP), which has now become the leading cause of fatal infections in liver transplant recipients. To reduce the risk of donor-derived infections, it is necessary to strengthen donor screening and evaluation, establish standardized testing processes, and adjust the use strategies of post-transplant anti-infective drugs and immunosuppressants. Monitoring the immune status of recipients is also crucial. Multidisciplinary collaboration and the application of new technologies will be key in future infection prevention and control. To promote the prevention and treatment of CRKP-related donor infections, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, in collaboration with international experiences, has organized relevant experts to develop an expert consensus on the prevention and treatment of CRKP-targeted DDI.
Liver transplantation is a most curative treatment for end-stage liver diseases. However, postoperative infection, especially the multi-drug resistant organisms infection, could contribute to the mortality after liver transplantation. Therefore, how to identify and prevent multi-drug resistant bacterial infection is the key to achieve improved postoperative outcomes after liver transplantation. The team of West China Hospital of Sichuan University, in collaboration with multiple Chinese medical centers, draw on the mature experiences of advanced countries in the field of transplantation jointly formulated the “Multicenter expert consensus on prevention and treatment of infections caused by multi-drug resistant organisms after liver transplantation”. The consensus had been developed around aspects such as epidemiological characteristics, antimicrobial uses, and prevention measurements of multi-drug resistant bacterial infection after liver transplantation.