Laboratory Diagnosis of Legionellosis
Giancarlo Ceccarelli, Mario Venditti, Maria Scaturro and Maria Luisa Ricci
from: Legionellosis Diagnosis and Control in the Genomic Era (Edited by: Jacob Moran-Gilad and Rachel E. Gibbs). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2020) Pages: 187-210.
Abstract
Despite efforts to find improved clinical and laboratory predictors for diagnosing cases of legionellosis, the clinical picture of Legionnaires disease, in particular, remains nonspecific. Due to the severity of Legionella pneumonia and the distinct antibiotic treatment regimen, prompt and accurate diagnosis is important to improve patient prognosis. For this reason, laboratory diagnostic methods are most essential tools for diagnosing legionellosis. This chapter discusses the diagnostic criteria along with an explanation of each laboratory method for the diagnosis of legionellosis including culture, urinary antigen, antibody detection and direct immunofluorescence. As there are benefits and disadvantages to each technique, this chapter describes how certain methods can be used in conjunction with one another in order to gain the most sensitive and specific diagnostic strategy read more ...
