Objective:
To study the diagnosis and prophylaxis of postoperative infections within 1 month after orthotopic liver transplantation（OLT）. Methods : Clinical date of 38 consecutive patients who underwent OLT at our institution from 2001 to 2003 were retrospectively reviewed. Result: Eighteen patients（47.4%） developed twenty-nine times infection after operation .Respiratory tract and peritoneum were the common infectious sites(37.9% and 24.1%). Enterobacter cloacae(8 of 29, 27.6%) , Escherichia coli(7 of 29, 24.1%),staphylococcus aureus(6 of 29, 20.7%) were the commonest bacterial.The mortality of infection was 38.9%（7/18）. Identified risk factors for infection including: previous transplantation; duration of operation; transfusion requirements during surgery; type of biliary anastomosis; delayed restoration of gastrointestinal function and persistent postoperative hyperglucocemia . Perioperative decontamination of the digestive tract had a protective effect. Conclusions : Infections are a major cause of death among liver transplant recipients. Reducing risk factors of infection and perioperative decontamination of the digestive tract may decrease the occurrence of postoperative infection.