Legionella pneumonia; Pontiac fever

Symptoms tend to get worse during the first 4 - 6 days. They typically improve in another 4 - 5 days.

Symptoms may include:

• Chest pain
• Coughing up blood
• Fever
• Gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain
• General discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling (malaise)
• Headache
• Joint pain
• Lack of coordination (ataxia)
• Loss of energy
• Muscle aches and stiffness
• Nonproductive cough
• Shaking chills
• Shortness of breath

The health care provider will perform a physical exam, and may hear abnormal sounds called crackles when listening to the chest with a stethoscope.

Tests that may be done include:

• Arterial blood gases
• Chest x-ray
• Complete blood count (CBC), including white blood cell count
• Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
• Liver function tests
• Sputum or bronchoscopic culture for the Legionella bacteria
• Sputum or bronchoscopic indirect fluorescent antibody test for the Legionella bacteria
• Urine tests to check for Legionella pneumophila bacteria

Images

Legionnaires' disease organism, legionella

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Legionnaire's disease Overview

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Legionnaire's disease Treatment

Review Date: 02/19/2011
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Denis Hadjiliadis, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)