Microbiologic investigation on patients with cystic fibrosis subjected to bilateral lung transplantation

Background. In cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, lung transplantation is the o nly way to improve both quality and length of life. Data in the literature show that, in 80% of the cases, mortality after lung transplantation in CF patients is due to infections. Methods. We microbiologically monitored 34 patients subjected to bilateral lung transplantation in during 1996 to 1999 to ascertain whether a change i n the bacterial species isolated from the lower respiratory tract took plac e that might have influenced the clinical conditions of the patients. Results. Our results show that the percentage of nonfermenting Gram-negativ e bacteria isolated from the lower respiratory tract remains high even in t he posttransplantation phase. Nevertheless, the general clinical conditions of most of the patients were good and the three patients who died did not do as a consequence of an infection. Conclusions. Lung transplantation constitutes a valid therapeutic choice fo r CF patients because the microorganisms that we isolated from the lungs of the patients in our study behave mostly as contaminants rather than as col onizers. However, the transplanted patients remain at risk and thus require constant microbiological surveillance.