Travel-associated Legionnaires disease: clinical features of 17 cases and a review of the literature.
We retrospectively investigated patients with Legionnaires disease (LD) who had been admitted to the Baskent University Alanya Teaching and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey, from January 2002 to September 2009. Twenty definitive cases were followed as LD, 17 (85%) of which were travel associated. The mean age was 61.5 ± 9.5 years (range, 39-77 years). Diabetes mellitus was found in 7 (41.2%) of those patients. Gastrointestinal or neurologic abnormalities were found approximately in two-thirds and relative bradycardia in 9 (52.9%). LD was severe in 11 (64.7%) patients, which required intensive care unit follow-up. Although appropriate antibiotic therapy was initiated in all patients on admission day, 4 (23.5%) deaths occurred. In conclusion, clinicians should remain vigilant about the diagnosis of LD in patients with community-acquired pneumonia, especially in the presence of extrapulmonary involvement, risk factors for LD, and a history of recent travel. As in our cases, mortality is still high in sporadic cases despite early appropriate treatment.
Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey. erdoganhaluk@hotmail.com
Haluk
H
Erdogan
Askin
A
Erdogan
Huseyin
H
Lakamdayali
Aynur
A
Yilmaz
Hande
H
Arslan
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001919:Bradycardia / Q000453:epidemiology; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007877:Legionnaires' Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014195:Travel; D014421:Turkey
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents