Anti-infection Therapy Based on mNGS Etiological Diagnosis and Infection After Liver Transplantation

Liver transplantation has been established as a highly effective treatment for end-stage liver disease, with continuous advancements in surgical techniques and immunosuppressive regimens significantly improving success rates and long-term survival for recipients. Despite these strides, postoperative challenges persist, with infections remaining a major complication and a leading cause of recipient mortality. Pathogens typically arise from the recipient's lungs, intestines, or other sites, yet donor-derived infections (DDIs), particularly those involving multidrug-resistant organisms, pose a substantial threat to transplant recipients' prognosis, prompting increased attention from liver transplant surgeons. Conventional microbial culture, with its lower positivity rate compared to metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS), exhibits a limited ability to guide clinically targeted anti-infective treatment. Hence, the rapid and accurate identification of pathogens, coupled with early targeted anti-infective treatment, is pivotal for effective post-transplant infection management and DDI prevention. Theoretically, preemptive identification of microbiological diagnoses before organ donation, followed by targeted anti-infective treatment for the donor, holds the potential to diminish the risk of pathogens entering the recipient's body with the donated organ. This reduction may subsequently decrease the risk of post-transplant recipient infection originating from the donor, ultimately enhancing the recipient's prognosis. However, as of now, there is a dearth of relevant clinical research on this topic. Notably, our transplantation center employs mNGS to screen both donor and recipient pathogens, a method progressively gaining widespread clinical application. Through a comprehensive analysis of results from both detection methods, we implement targeted anti-infective treatment for both donors and recipients. Consequently, by analyzing cases of liver transplantation and their corresponding donor cases at our center, this study aims to investigate the impact of donor anti-infective treatment guided by mNGS microbiological diagnosis on the incidence of perioperative infections in recipients undergoing liver transplantation. The analysis encompasses the occurrence of infections, results of microbiological examinations, and the formulation of corresponding anti-infective treatment plans.

Inclusion criteria

• Recipient age >18 years;
• Clinical diagnosis of infection in the donor with administered anti-infective treatment;
• Complete clinical data for both the donor and recipient.

Exclusion criteria

• Recipient age <18 years;
• Presence of surgery-related factors leading to death or infection, such as intraoperative cardiac arrest resulting in postoperative death, intraoperative bleeding exceeding 2000ml, postoperative complications like intestinal or bile leakage, graft dysfunction, or small liver syndrome;
• Incomplete clinical data for the donor or recipient