title: Clinical aspects of Legionnaires' disease.
abstract: Since the initial description of Legionnaires' disease 2 years ago, a clearer picture of its clinical manifestations has emerged as a result of investigations of further epidemics and studies of laboratory-confirmed sporadic cases. Although individual clinical features are not sufficiently distinctive to distinguish Legionnaires' disease from other types of acute pneumonia, a composite can provide a sufficiently characteristic clinical profile to indicate the likelihood of this diagnosis. Such a profile includes high fever (above 39.4 degrees C); recurrent chills; relative bradycardia; early gastrointestinal symptoms (particularly diarrhea); prominent myalgias; microscopic hematuria; liver function abnormalities; toxic encephalopathy; nonproductive cough; absence of bacterial pathogens on Gram stain and culture of transtracheal aspirate; progression from patchy bronchopneumonia to lobar and multilobar consolidation; and frequently prompt and sometimes dramatic response to treatment with erythromycin.
mesh_terms: D003371:Cough / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000175:diagnosis; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005334:Fever / Q000175:diagnosis; D006339:Heart Rate; D006417:Hematuria / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007877:Legionnaires' Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D011859:Radiography; D012768:Shivering
chemical_list: D004917:Erythromycin