Abstract
In a prospective study of 16 patients with Legionnaires disease confirmed by cultural isolation of Legionella pneumophila from the respiratory tract, 38% (6 of 16) had positive blood cultures. Daily subcultures were made onto buffered charcoal-yeast extract plates from 6B aerobic and 7C anaerobic BACTEC blood culture bottles (Johnston Laboratories, Inc., Towson, Md.). Isolation of L. pneumophila was achieved from both aerobic and anaerobic bottles. L. pneumophila growth indices failed to exceed the BACTEC threshold limits; thus, the organism would have been overlooked despite its presence in the blood culture bottles. Bacteremic patients had statistically significant higher quantities of L. pneumophila isolated from sputum and visualized on direct fluorescent antibody stains. Thus, the potential exists for improved diagnosis of Legionella infection by a relatively noninvasive procedure (blood culture) with an instrument already in use in many hospital laboratories.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Chester B., Poulos E. G., Demaray M. J., Albin E., Prilucik T. Isolation of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 from blood with nonsupplemented blood culture bottles. J Clin Microbiol. 1983 Feb;17(2):195–197. doi: 10.1128/jcm.17.2.195-197.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Edelstein P. H., Finegold S. M. Use of a semiselective medium to culture Legionella pneumophila from contaminated lung specimens. J Clin Microbiol. 1979 Aug;10(2):141–143. doi: 10.1128/jcm.10.2.141-143.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Edelstein P. H. Improved semiselective medium for isolation of Legionella pneumophila from contaminated clinical and environmental specimens. J Clin Microbiol. 1981 Sep;14(3):298–303. doi: 10.1128/jcm.14.3.298-303.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Edelstein P. H., Meyer R. D., Finegold S. M. Isolation of Legionella pneumophila from blood. Lancet. 1979 Apr 7;1(8119):750–751. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(79)91207-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Farrington M., French G. L. Legionella pneumophila seen in Gram stains of respiratory secretions and recovered from conventional blood cultures. J Infect. 1983 Mar;6(2):123–127. doi: 10.1016/s0163-4453(83)92663-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kirby B. D., Snyder K. M., Meyer R. D., Finegold S. M. Legionnaires' disease: clinical features of 24 cases. Ann Intern Med. 1978 Sep;89(3):297–309. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-89-3-297. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Macrae A. D., Greaves P. W., Platts P. Isolation of Legionella pneumophila from blood culture. Br Med J. 1979 Nov 10;2(6199):1189–1190. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.6199.1189-a. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- McDade J. E., Brenner D. J., Bozeman F. M. Legionnaires' disease bacterium isolated in 1947. Ann Intern Med. 1979 Apr;90(4):659–661. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-90-4-659. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Meyer R. D., Edelstein P. H., Kirby B. D., Louie M. H., Mulligan M. E., Morgenstein A. A., Finegold S. M. Legionnaires' disease: unusual clinical and laboratory features. Ann Intern Med. 1980 Aug;93(2):240–243. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-93-2-240. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Nelson D. P., Rensimer E. R., Burke C. M., Raffin T. A. Cardiac legionellosis. Chest. 1984 Dec;86(6):807–808. doi: 10.1378/chest.86.6.807. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Vickers R. M., Brown A., Garrity G. M. Dye-containing buffered charcoal-yeast extract medium for differentiation of members of the family Legionellaceae. J Clin Microbiol. 1981 Feb;13(2):380–382. doi: 10.1128/jcm.13.2.380-382.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Zuravleff J. J., Yu V. L., Shonnard J. W., Davis B. K., Rihs J. D. Diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease. An update of laboratory methods with new emphasis on isolation by culture. JAMA. 1983 Oct 21;250(15):1981–1985. doi: 10.1001/jama.250.15.1981. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]