Approach to Prophylaxis and Management of Infections after Liver Transplantation

Infections are an important complication following liver transplantation (LT). Risk assessment can be performed prior to LT and effective strategies to prevent bacterial, viral and fungal infections can be implemented. The most frequent post-LT infections are bacterial and typically occur in the first month after LT. Opportunistic infections are less common due to preventive strategies but may still occur after prophylaxis is discontinued and cell-mediated immunity is still weak (months 1–6). Algorithms are provided for assessing LT recipients suspected with infection.