Polytetrafluoroethylene Infection-related Sepsis in Liver Transplant Recipients

Abstract

Abstract Synthetic vascular grafts are commonly used in liver transplantation. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts should be monitored for infectious complications that require percutaneous drainage or graft removal. Herein, we report three cases of PTFE graft infection in living-donor liver transplant recipients. Two of the three patients presented with bacteremia and one of the patients had culture-negative sepsis, and fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography in all three cases suggested synthetic vascular graft infection with thrombosis. Two of the three patients developed PTFE graft infection with thrombosis within 1–4 months of transplantation, and the third patient developed it 9 months posttransplantation. Timely detection of infection and appropriate antibiotic therapy preserved the graft function. When unexplained bacteremia or persistent fever occurs in patients with liver transplants, prosthetic material should be considered as a focus, and appropriate imaging, culture, and antibiotic therapy will help in preserving graft function. Although the gold standard treatment is the removal of infected tissue, our patients did remarkably well with conservative management.