Practicing Medicine Wisely: Routine Use of Urine Legionella in Suspicious Pneumonia – Are we Overdoing?

Authors

  • Swotantra Gautam Department of Internal Medicine, Advent Health Orlando, Florida, USA.
  • Aakash Neupane Department of Internal Medicine, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences. Dharan, Sunsari, Nepal.
  • Luis Isea Mercado Department of Internal Medicine, Advent Health Orlando, Florida, USA.
  • Phuong Nguyen Department of Internal Medicine, Advent Health Orlando, Florida, USA.
  • Suzit Bhusal Research and Development Unit, National Trauma Centre, Bir Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.8621

Keywords:

legionella species, legionnaires disease urinary antigen testing, viewpoint

Abstract

Legionella spp. is an underreported cause of Community Acquired pneumonia that affects significant population specially in urban areas and its prevalence is on an increasing trend. The routine practice of testing for urinary antigen of Legionella in all suspected cases of pneumonia is prevalent is resource rich western countries. Although several studies have shown no distinct advantage of performing routine urinary antigen testing, this practice continues to be preferred by clinicians. In this viewpoint, we have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of urinary antigen testing, its relevance in current practice and its impact on clinical outcomes.

Downloads

Published

2024-05-31

How to Cite

Gautam, S. ., Neupane, A., Mercado, L. I. ., Nguyen, P., & Bhusal, S. . (2024). Practicing Medicine Wisely: Routine Use of Urine Legionella in Suspicious Pneumonia – Are we Overdoing?. Journal of Nepal Medical Association, 62(274), 411–413. https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.8621

Issue

Vol. 62 No. 274 (2024): JNMA: Published Monthly

Section

Viewpoint

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Swotantra Gautam, Aakash Neupane, Luis Isea Mercado, Phuong Nguyen, Suzit Bhusal

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

JNMA allow to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of its articles and allow readers to use them for any other lawful purpose. The author(s) are allowed to retain publishing rights without restrictions. The JNMA work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. More about Copyright Policy.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 > >>