Haridi Merna, Hutcheson Alana, De Faria Beatriz, Saleh Mohamed
Family Medicine, St. Martinus University, Willemstad, CUW.
Family Medicine, Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Cureus. 2022 May 5;14(5):e24760. doi: 10.7759/cureus.24760. eCollection 2022 May.
Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria. This type of bacteria can be found anywhere across the world, mostly in moist environments (e.g., ground soil, rivers, lakes). More importantly, can multiply in water systems such as air conditioners, which is a common source of outbreaks nationwide, particularly during the summer months. We present a unique clinical course of Legionnaires' disease with suspected underlying recurrent lung cancer in a 77-year-old man during an outbreak that originated in a small city near our hospital. The patient presented to Urgent Care and after initial assessment, was admitted to the Internal Medicine Unit. He underwent supportive treatment with antibiotic therapy and oxygen, and was discharged one week after admission with improvement. The patient returned to Urgent Care a few weeks later with worsening dyspnea, where he was then transferred to another hospital for admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and later died. We report this special case to bring awareness to physicians of the possibility and importance of early detection and prompt management of Legionnaires' disease in lung cancer and critically ill patients with possible environmental risk factors. Prompt detection and management of L allows for a greater chance of a favorable prognosis, particularly in the immunocompromised.
军团病是一种由细菌引起的肺炎。这种细菌在世界各地都能找到，主要存在于潮湿环境中（如土壤、河流、湖泊）。更重要的是，它能在空调等水系统中繁殖，这是全国范围内疫情爆发的常见源头，尤其是在夏季。我们报告了一名77岁男性在我院附近一个小城市爆发疫情期间患军团病的独特临床过程，疑似潜在的复发性肺癌。患者前往紧急护理中心，经过初步评估后，被收入内科病房。他接受了抗生素治疗和吸氧的支持性治疗，入院一周后病情好转出院。几周后，患者因呼吸困难加重返回紧急护理中心，随后被转至另一家医院，收入重症监护病房（ICU），后来死亡。我们报告这一特殊病例，旨在让医生们认识到在肺癌患者和可能存在环境危险因素的重症患者中早期发现和及时处理军团病的可能性及重要性。及时发现和处理军团病能增加获得良好预后的机会，尤其是在免疫功能低下的患者中。
