September 28, 2011: Study Finds Testing Guidelines for Community-Acquired Legionella Inadequate
Researchers from Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, RI suggest current testing guidelines for possible community-acquired Legionnaires’ disease may not be comprehensive enough to detect all cases.
Currently, testing for the urine antigen of Legionella is recommended for patients with severe pneumonia requiring intensive care unit admission; failure of outpatient antibiotics; active alcohol abuse; history of travel within previous two weeks; or pleural effusion. Despite testing patients for Legionnaires’ disease based on these guidelines, the researchers estimate that over 40% of Legionnaires’ cases could be missed.
The study included nearly 4,000 patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of pneumonia in an 18-month period. Of those patients studied with pneumonia due to Legionella, only 22% met the criteria that recommends Legionella testing.
