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7 - Final considerations
In view of the need to use specific laboratory tests for the diagnosis of
Legionellosis, it is clear that the infection caused by
Legionella pneumophilais
underdiagnosed in our area. It is worth noting that the search for
Legionella
pneumophila
in patients that develop community-acquired pneumonia is
restricted to the cases of more serious evolution.
It is observed that the combination of the culture of respiratory samples
of the lower tract, associated to the serologic tests and the detection of
antigens in urine, enables the reach of a profile of sensitivity and specificity
that corroborates the use of these tests in the clinical practice.
The development of tests for the search of antigen of
Legionella
pneumophila
in urine to identify a larger variety of serogroups; the
standardization of molecular tests (PCR) on a large scale with availability
to be used in clinical practice; and the incorporation of diagnostic kits
in clinical laboratories for the detection of L. pneumophila based on
the PCR incorporated to dipstick (SPEED-OLIGO®LEGIONELLA
PNEUMOPHILA) to enable a fast, highly sensitive and specific detection
of L. pneumophila in clinical samples will constitute great advances in the
laboratory diagnosis of Legionellosis.
The increase in availability and use of laboratory tests for the detection
of infections caused by the
Legionellacea
will improve the epidemiologic
characterization of the Legionnaires’ disease. And with this, also, the
evaluations of incidence and geographical variation will be more reliable.
