Spontaneous pneumothorax complicating Legionnaires’ disease

Abstract

Summary Spontaneous pneumothorax is a known but rare complication of pneumonia in adults. A case is described of Legionnaires’ disease complicated by spontaneous hydropneumothorax. So far as is known such an association has not been reported previously.

Community‐acquired Legionella pneumophilia pneumonia presenting with spontaneous pneumothorax

“…In one case, pneumothorax developed after abscess formation in the right upper lobe [2]. In another case, the authors concluded that the infection resulted in pulmonary necrosis and bronchopleural fistula, leading to pneumothorax [3]. In our case, spontaneous pneumothorax developed early, and without evidence of intrapulmonary cavity.…”

“…This results in a pressure gradient between the alveoli and the lung interstitium, and ultimately alveolar rupture. A search of publications in English on PubMed identified four cases of Legionella pneumonia and spontaneous pneumothorax [2–5]. In one case, pneumothorax developed after abscess formation in the right upper lobe [2].…”

Legionella community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) presenting with spontaneous bilateral pneumothoraces

“…[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Spontaneous pneumothorax is a rare presenting feature of Legionella CAP. 15,16 To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax as the presenting radiological manifestation of Legionella CAP.…”