Legionella pneumophila serogroup 3 pneumonia in a patient with low-grade 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a case report

Abstract

Introduction: Nosocomial legionellosis has generally been described in immunodepressed patients, but Legionella pneumophila serogroup 3 has rarely been identified as the causative agent.

Case presentation: We report the case of nosocomial L. pneumophila serogroup 3 pneumonia in a 70-year-old Caucasian man with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Diagnosis was carried out by culture and real-time polymerase chain reaction of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The results of a urinary antigen test were negative. A hospital environmental investigation revealed that the hospital water system was highly colonized by L. pneumophila serogroups 3, 4, and 8. The hospital team involved in the prevention of infections was informed, long-term control measures to reduce the environmental bacterial load were adopted, and clinical monitoring of legionellosis occurrence in high-risk patients was performed. No further cases of Legionella pneumonia have been observed so far.

Conclusions: In this report, we describe a case of legionellosis caused by L. pneumophila serogroup 3, which is not usually a causative agent of nosocomial infection. Our research confirms the importance of carrying out cultures of respiratory secretions to diagnose legionellosis and highlights the limited value of the urinary antigen test for hospital infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. It also indicates that, to reduce the bacterial load and prevent nosocomial legionellosis, appropriate control measures should be implemented with systematic monitoring of hospital water systems.