Legionella infection with acute renal failure and thrombocytopenia mimicking allograft rejection. A pitfall in post-transplantation diagnosis.

A patient is described who developed cavitary Legionella pneumonia 2 weeks after kidney transplantation. The initial pulmonary symptoms were followed by severe thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure. Although acute irreversible graft rejection was suspected, this was not supported by the pathology findings in the resected kidney, which were compatible with tubular damage. We presume that the extrapulmonary symptoms were caused by Legionellosis.