Demodex folliculorum in Renal Transplant Patients

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Demodex folliculorum (DF), which is a resident in human pilosebaceous follicles, has been implicated in infections of patients under cancer chemotherapy and with AIDS. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the influence of immunosuppression on carriage of DF. METHODS: Mite density was compared, of 30 renal transplant (RT) patients under a combination therapy of cyclosporine, azathioprine and prednisolone with that of age- and sex-matched controls. Two samples of standardized skin surface biopsies were taken from each subject. RESULTS: DF was not found in any of the RT patients while a mean density of 0.55 DF/cm2 was present in healthy subjects (Fisher's exact test, p < 0.0001). The relationship between mite density and classic risk factors was not found to be statistically significant (Fisher's exact test, p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that there may be other factors than immunosuppressive therapy influencing DF density.