Lung function changes following Legionnaires' disease

Abstract

Eleven out of thirteen patients hospitalized because of severe pneumonia caused by Legionella Pneumophila were evaluated over a period of 53 months. During the acute phase, all but one patient manifested severe hypoxaemia, needing either supplementary oxygen or, in the case of three, mechanical ventilation and one died. Following recovery, two patients complained of mild shortness of breath alone. However, most of the individuals showed subclinical mild to moderate ventilatory and/or gas exchange abnormalities a few months after discharge (less than 6 months). Despite the fact that some of these functional findings in part persisted at long-term (6-33 months), a significant overall improvement in lung function was noticed. The main pulmonary functional sequelae following Legionnaires' Disease might include a restrictive ventilatory defect, a low transfer factor and hypoxaemia.