Early post-transplant neopterin associated with one year survival and bacteremia in liver transplant recipients

Bacterial infections are the most common complications, and the major cause of mortality after liver transplantation (Tx). Neopterin, a marker of immune activation, is produced in monocyte/macrophages in response to inflammation. The aim of our study was to investigate whether early post-operation serum levels of neopterin were associated with post-transplant bacteremia and mortality in liver transplant recipients. We studied 162 of 262 liver Tx patients between January 2008 and February 2011 of whom pre- and early post-Tx sera samples were available.Pre- and early post-operative risk factors of infection and mortality were evaluated in 45 bacteremic patients and 117 non-bacteremic patients. During one-year follow-up, 28 of 262 patients died because of graft failure, septicemia and other diseases.Post-Tx serum neopterin on day 10 (p < 0.001) were significantly higher in bacteriemic patients than in patients without bacteremia. Logistic regression analyses showed that day 10 post-Tx neopterin serum level ⩾40 nmol/l has a predictive value (OR = 6.86: p < 0.001) for bacteremia and mortality (OR = 3.47: p = 0.021).Our results suggest that early post-Tx neopterin serum levels are very sensitive predictive markers of one-year post-Tx bacteremia and mortality in liver Tx recipients.