RACE AND INVASIVE FUNGAL INFECTION IN SOLID ORGAN TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS

Health disparities in access to solid organ transplantation (SOT) and graft survival are well recognized, but there are limited data on the relationship of race to risk of invasive fungal infection (IFI) among SOT recipients. We conducted a case-control study using data from the Transplant-Associated Infection Surveillance Network (TRANSNET) to investigate race and IFI. Cases (n=1,214) and controls (n=16,550) were compared on demographic variables using chi-square, and the relationship between race and IFI was assesses with unconditional logistic regression. Compared to White transplant patients, Blacks had similar odds of developing IFI (OR=.97, 95% CI 0.82-1.15, P=.7125), while participants who identified as other ethnicity were less likely to develop IFI (OR=.56, 95% CI .41-.75, P<.001). Blacks, when compared to White patients, were at increased odds of developing cryptococcal infection (OR 2.19, 95%CI 1.35-3.54, P=.002). Despite pharmacogenetic differences, Black transplant recipients were not more likely overall to develop IFI compared to White transplant recipients.