Current clinical management of Legionnaires’ disease

Abstract

Legionella pneumophila is increasingly recognized as a cause of both sporadic and epidemic community-acquired pneumonia. Clinical manifestations of Legionnaires’ disease are not specific and current diagnostic scores are of limited use. Urinary antigen detection is an effective test for rapid diagnosis of infection caused by L. pneumophila serogroup 1. Improved outcomes regarding the time to defervescence, development of complications and length of stay, have been recently observed for patients treated with levofloxacin monotherapy. Current case-fatality rates for hospitalized patients with community-acquired Legionella pneumonia are lower than those traditionally reported for this infection. Effective preventive strategies are needed.

Keywords::

• azithromycin
• community-acquired pneumonia
• cooling tower
• fluoroquinolones
• guinea-pig model
• Legionnaires’ disease
• Legionella pneumophila
• levofloxacin
• macrolides
• urinary antigen