Legionellosis and Lung Abscesses: Contribution ofLegionellaQuantitative Real-Time PCR to an Adapted Followup

Abstract

We report a case of severe Legionnaires' disease (LD) complicated by a lung abscess in an immunocompetent patient who required ECMO therapy and thoracic surgery. The results of repeatedLegionellaquantitative real-time PCR performed on both sera and respiratory samples correlated with the LD severity and the poor clinical outcome. Moreover, the PCR allowed for the detection ofLegionellaDNA in the lung abscess specimen, which was negative when cultured forLegionella. This case report provides a logical basis for further investigations to examine whether theLegionellaquantitative PCR could improve the assessment of LD severity and constitute a prognostic marker.