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Legionnaires' disease after heart transplantation
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
|April 1, 1985
Summary
Legionnaires' disease can affect heart transplant patients. Prompt diagnosis and treatment with erythromycin, sometimes with rifampin, led to successful outcomes in all reviewed cases.
Area of Science:
- Medical Microbiology
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Legionnaires' disease, a severe pneumonia, poses a significant risk to immunocompromised individuals.
- Heart transplant recipients are particularly vulnerable due to their immunosuppressed state.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review cases of Legionnaires' disease in heart transplant recipients.
- To describe diagnostic methods, treatment outcomes, and clinical presentations in this specific patient population.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 8 heart transplant recipients diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease.
- Diagnostic confirmation through fluorescent antibody stains or direct culture of respiratory specimens (sputum, transtracheal aspirate, fine needle aspirate).
Main Results:
- All 8 patients were successfully treated.
- Effective treatments included erythromycin alone or in combination with rifampin.
- The study highlights radiographic and clinical variations of the disease in immunocompromised hosts.
Conclusions:
- Legionnaires' disease is treatable in heart transplant recipients.
- Early diagnosis and appropriate antibiotic therapy (erythromycin +/- rifampin) are crucial for favorable outcomes.
- Understanding disease variations in immunocompromised hosts is important for clinical management.
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