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Case Reports
. 2021 Jul 29;9(9):e0814.
doi: 10.1002/rcr2.814. eCollection 2021 Sep.

Non-pneumophila Legionella species pneumonia with orange-coloured sputum

Maki Asami-Noyama  1 , Misa Harada  1 , Kaori Murakawa  2 , Junki Suizu  1 , Keita Murakawa  1 , Ayumi Chikumoto  1 , Kazuki Hamada  1 , Yoriyuki Murata  1   2 , Keiji Oishi  1   2 , Yoshikazu Yamaji  1 , Nobutaka Edakuni  1 , Tsunahiko Hirano  1 , Tomoyuki Kakugawa  3 , Kazuto Matsunaga  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Non-pneumophila Legionella species pneumonia with orange-coloured sputum

Maki Asami-Noyama et al. Respirol Case Rep. .

Abstract

We herein report an immunocompromised patient familiar with gardening admitted to our hospital suffering from severe pneumonia caused by Legionella longbeachae. We suspected non-pneumophila Legionella species pneumonia because of gardening habits, the negative urine antigen test and the non-significant Gram staining results of orange-coloured sputum. The pathogen was identified using mass spectrometry analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. It is important to perform the medical interview carefully, noting the colour of sputum and gardening habits, for diagnosis and targeted therapy of non-pneumophila Legionella species pneumonia, even if the urine Legionella antigen test is negative.

Keywords: Legionella longbeachae; orange‐coloured sputum; pneumonia.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
(A) Orange‐coloured sputum is observed. (B) Orange‐coloured bronchoalveolar lavage fluid is observed
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
(A) Chest x‐ray findings of a patient is showing extensive consolidation in the upper and middle lung fields bilaterally. (B) Chest computed tomography findings of the same patient. Bilateral consolidation is observed
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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