Comorbidity Burden and Radiological Features Associated with Legionella pneumophila Pneumonia: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

Authors

Nicola Serra, Teresa Maria Assunta Fasciana, Paola Di Carlo, Anna Giammanco, Antonio Cascio, Luca Pipitò, Dario De Luca, Caterina Carollo, Valentina Caputo, Martina Maria Federico, Consolato Maria Sergi, Emanuele Grassedonio, Tommaso Vincenzo Bartolotta

Published in

Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland). Volume 15. Issue 8. Aug 19, 2026. Epub Aug 19, 2026.

Abstract

Background: Legionella pneumophila is a leading cause of community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP/CAP), although the clinical and radiological features associated with infection remain incompletely defined. This study aimed to identify clinical, comorbidity-related, and chest computed tomography (CT) features associated with L. pneumophila pneumonia in hospitalized adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted at a tertiary-care university hospital in Italy between January 2019 and August 2025. Eighty patients positive for L. pneumophila were compared with 79 controls negative for L. pneumophila. Demographic, clinical, microbiological, and radiological data were collected, and factors independently associated with infection were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: Patients with L. pneumophila infection exhibited a greater comorbidity burden, particularly heart failure, and were more frequently smokers. Bilateral lung involvement and hilar/mediastinal lymphadenopathy were significantly more common among Legionella-positive patients, whereas overall pulmonary complications and bilateral pleural effusion were more frequently observed in controls. Multivariable analysis identified comorbidity burden as an independent positive predictor of L. pneumophila infection, while intensive care unit admission, oxygen therapy, and pulmonary complication score were independently associated with a lower likelihood of infection. Conclusions: The integration of comorbidity assessment with readily available chest CT findings may help raise clinical suspicion of L. pneumophila pneumonia and support consideration of appropriate diagnostic testing.

PMID:
42654803
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 27 Aug 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.