Frequency Distribution of Legionella Pneumophila among Patients with Fever and Neutropenia in Seyedoshohada Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, during 2014-2015

Legionella pneumophila is considered as one of the most important etiologies of respiratory infection in immunocompromised patients, which causes high morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of Legionella pneumophila in febrile neutropenic patients.
This cross-sectional study was performed on 36 patients with neutropenia admitted to Seyedoshohada hospital, Isfahan, Iran, during 2014-2015. All patients underwent throat sampling with a sterile swab. All samples were analyzed via quantitative real-time multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) covering Legionella pneumophila. The prevalence of Legionella pneumophila in febrile neutropenic patients was then assessed.
Findings: Mean age of the patients (including 22 men and 14 women) was 54.8 ± 7.6 years. Most of the patients had acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (33.3%) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) (19.4%). From 36 examined throat samples obtained from the patients with confirmed neutropenia, no positive result of Legionella pneumophila was detected via polymerase chain reaction.
Our study does not support the hypothesis that Legionella pneumophila plays an important role in the development of neutropenic fever. Thus, more studies and using additional diagnostic methods to detect Legionella pneumophila in atypical pneumonia are recommended.