Legionellosis at intensive care units: study of 30 cases
Blanquer Olivas, J.; Borrás Salvador, R.; Muñoz Gil, J.; Chiner Vives, E.; López Camps, V.; García Lomas, J.
Revista Clinica Espanola 184(5): 234-237
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0014-2565 PMID: 2772293 Document Number: 342733
A prospective study during 44 months has been carried out in order to establish the incidence of pneumonia due to Legionella sp. in our hospital's intensive care unit (ICU). Thirty cases of legionellosis were diagnosed (22.2% of the studied pneumonias) two of them were acquired in the ICU and 76.6% were caused by L. pneumophila serotype. The most evident symptomatology was intense dyspnea, neurological disorders, acute respiratory and renal failure. The biochemical alterations, most commonly encountered were increased liver enzymes, hypoxemia, hypoalbuminemia, increased urea, creatinine and hematuria. As a consequence of this severe disease, the mortality rate was high (13 out of 30 cases).