Infections in patients with chronic renal failure and kidney transplant recipients in Brazil.

Patients with chronic renal failure who are undergoing dialysis and kidney transplant recipients are susceptible to infection for several reasons. In this study, the profile of infections in patients with chronic renal failure and kidney transplant recipients treated at a hospital in northern Paraná, Brazil, from 2007 to 2009 was examined. The study involved 187 patients: 59 kidney transplant recipients and 128 patients undergoing dialysis. The frequency of infection was 25% (32/128) in dialysis patients and 8% (5/59) in transplant recipients (P = .008). Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent infectious agent, cultured from 27% (13/48) of samples, followed by Escherichia coli at 17% (8/48). All isolates of S aureus were sensitive to vancomycin and resistant to penicillin, and 43% were resistant to oxacillin. Most S aureus samples (43%) were isolated from cultures of blood samples. As for the E coli, 75% were resistant to cephalothin and 38% were resistant to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim. Most isolates of E coli (62%) were cultured from specimens of patients with suspected urinary tract infection.