Open AccessA patient with Legionnaires' disease transferred after a traffic accident
Author(s) -
Ryota Sakamoto,
Akira Ohno,
Tsutomu Nakahara,
Kazunari Satomura,
Suketaka Iwanaga,
M. Saito,
Kiyohito Okumiya,
Keizo Yamaguchi
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
bmj case reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.231
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 1757-790X
DOI - 10.1136/bcr.09.2008.0893
Subject(s) - medicine , legionnaires' disease , legionella , intensive care medicine , medical emergency , disease , emergency medicine , legionella pneumophila , genetics , bacteria , biology
Legionnaires' disease (LD) ranks among the three most common causes of severe pneumonia, but is often not specifically diagnosed. Among patients with LD, 40% to 50% of the patients develop neuromuscular signs and symptoms. A patient with LD transferred to our department after a traffic accident. When the patient arrived at our hospital, his respiratory rate was 27 breaths per min. His pulse was 148 beats per min and blood pressure was 116/57 mm Hg. Temperature was 39.6°C. He had copious watery diarrhoea and had been diagnosed as having acute gastroenteritis. The patient had urinary incontinence, gait disturbance, mild headache, fatigue and excessive decrease in spontaneous speech. A urinary antigen test for Legionella pneumophila turned out to be positive. LD commonly involves the neuromuscular system. Although this may be an atypical case of LD, it implies the need for awareness of LD.