Acute renal failure complicating Legionnaires’ disease

Abstract

A 45-year-old man developed symptoms of pneumonia while on holiday in Spain. On his return home, a diagnosis of Legionnaires’ disease was confirmed, complicated by acute renal failure, He was treated with dialysis and spontaneous recovery of renal function began on day 19.

Prevalence of Pneumonia due to <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> and <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> in a Population Admitted to a Department of Internal Medicine

“…The observation that the symptom 'excessive sweating' is important in the Legionella pneumonia group is diffi cult to interpret, although it has already been reported in other trials [21,22]. It may form part of the extrapulmonary toxicity signs complex, often accompanying the pul monary involvement symptoms, and which is probably caused by a Legionella-produced toxin [23].…”

Pathological and Biochemical Features of Legionella Pneumophila Infection in Guinea-pigs

“…This might seem to indicate mild renal dysfunction, but there was no histopathological evidence and the serum urea concentrations remained unchanged. In contrast, renal complications have sometimes been reported in human legionellosis (Harvey, Quirke and Warren, 1980;Saleh et al, 1980;Williams et al, 1980), although the exact nature and cause of the renal lesion are not yet known.…”

“…Varying degrees of increased LDH activity occur in human legionellosis (Lattimer and Rhodes, 1978;Saleh et al, 1980). C K activity may increase in some human infections (Lattimer and Rhodes, 1978;Harvey et al, 1980;Saleh et af., 1980); transient increases occurred in a few guinea-pigs. The observed decreases in the activity of CK and y-GT late in the disease were unexpected because the appearance of these enzymes in serum is caused by tissue breakdown.…”