An unusual presentation of Legionella pneumonia in a returning traveller

Robert John Shorten; Jane Norman; Louise C Sweeney

doi:10.1136/bcr-2019-230130

An unusual presentation of Legionella pneumonia in a returning traveller

BMJ Case Rep. 2019 Aug 15;12(8):e230130. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2019-230130.

Authors

Robert John Shorten^{1

2}, Jane Norman³, Louise C Sweeney⁴

Affiliations

¹ Microbiology, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston, UK.
² Centre for Clinical Microbiology, University College London, London, UK.
³ Haematology, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
⁴ Microbiology, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.

Abstract

A male patient in his mid-60s presented with a severe pneumonia following return to the UK after travel to Crete. He was diagnosed with Legionnaire's disease (caused by an uncommon serogroup of Legionella pneumophila). He was pancytopenic on admission, and during a long stay on critical care he was diagnosed with a disseminated Aspergillus infection. Bone marrow aspiration revealed an underlying hairy cell leukaemia that undoubtedly contributed to his acute presentation and subsequent invasive fungal infection.

Keywords: infectious diseases; intensive care; malignant and benign haematology; pneumonia (infectious disease).

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Aspergillosis / microbiology
Aspergillus*
Greece
Humans
Legionella pneumophila*
Legionnaires' Disease / microbiology*
Leukemia, Hairy Cell / microbiology
Male
Middle Aged
Pneumonia / microbiology*
Travel-Related Illness*
United Kingdom