Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control-Online Journal

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Article in Japanese

Present Status of Oral Infection Control in Patients with Renal Transplants

Koichi KOZAKI¹⁾ and Tomoko IWASHIMA²⁾
¹⁾Department of Surgery and Transplantation Surgery, National Hospital Organization Mito Medical Center, ²⁾Certified Nurse in Infection Control, National Hospital Organization Mito Medical Center

Postoperation, patients with renal transplants are in an immunosuppressive state. Under immunosuppression, oral lesions such as rodents and periodontal disease sometimes become infection foci and when they become severe they develop cerebral abscesses and have a poor prognosis. Therefore, treating oral lesions in patients with renal transplants is extremely important. In our department, in the case of living-donor renal transplantation, which is a scheduled operation, the presence or absence of oral lesions is examined by dental and oral surgery before transplantation and treatment including tooth extraction is performed. Check the status of the treatment in dental and oral surgery when renewing the transplant registration, perform transplantation if there is no problem at the time of cadaveric renal transplantation, and consult Maxillofacial Surgery if treatment is insufficient before transplantation. Lesions can become infection foci, so perform transplantation after treatment to the extent possible. Even after transplantation, immunosuppressive and antihypertensive agents may cause gingival thickening, mouth ulcers, and reservoir and periodontal disease, which may become foci of infection if left untreated. Therefore, in our department, we regularly request Maxillofacial Surgery consults for oral examinations of patients after transplantation. We have an otolaryngology examination for the oral cavity and throat in some cases.
In this study, many of the cadaveric renal transplant patients and their waiting patients in our department were insufficiently treated for oral lesions before transplantation. A patient who wishes to have a renal transplant and has severe periodontal disease must avoid or postpone the renal transplant. After the renal transplant, infections such as cerebral abscesses could develop. To prevent infectious diseases, it is extremely important to confirm the presence or absence of oral lesions before and after renal transplantation to prevent infectious diseases.

Key words：renal transplantation, oral lesions, dental caries, periodontal disease, cerebral abscess

e-mail: kozaki.koichi.gk＠mail.hosp.go.jp

Received: July 8, 2021
Accepted: February 4, 2022

37 (3)：95─99,2022