Legionella antibiotic susceptibility testing: is it time for international standardization and evidence-based guidance?

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Edward Portal - (Author)
  • Ghislaine Descours - (Author)
  • Christophe Ginevra - (Author)
  • Massimo Mentasti - (Author)
  • Baharak Afshar - (Author)
  • Meera Chand - (Author)
  • Jessica Day - (Author)
  • Fedoua Echahidi - (Author)
  • Laura Franzin - (Author)
  • Valeria Gaia - (Author)
  • Christian Lück - , Institute of Medical Microbiology and Virology (Author)
  • Alaeddine Meghraoui - (Author)
  • Jacob Moran-Gilad - (Author)
  • Maria Luisa Ricci - (Author)
  • Gerard Lina - (Author)
  • Søren Uldum - (Author)
  • Jonas Winchell - (Author)
  • Robin Howe - (Author)
  • Kathryn Bernard - (Author)
  • Owen B Spiller - (Author)
  • Victoria J Chalker - (Author)
  • Sophie Jarraud - (Author)
  • the ESCMID Study Group for Legionella Infections (esgli) - (Author)

Abstract

Legionella pneumophila, a Gram-negative bacillus, is the causative agent of Legionnaire’s disease, a form of severe community-acquired pneumonia. Infection can have high morbidity, with a high proportion of patients requiring ICU admission, and up to 10% mortality, which is exacerbated by the lack of efficacy of typical empirical antibiotic therapy against Legionella spp. The fastidious nature of the entire Legionellaceae family historically required inclusion of activated charcoal in the solid medium to remove growth inhibitors, which inherently interferes with accurate antimicrobial susceptibility determination, an acknowledged methodological shortfall, now rectified by a new solid medium that gives results comparable to those of microbroth dilution. Here, as an international Legionella community (with authors representing various international reference laboratories, countries and clinical stakeholders for diagnosis and treatment of legionellosis), we set out recommendations for the standardization of antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods, guidelines and reference strains to facilitate an improved era of antibiotic resistance determination.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1113-1116
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Volume76
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85104899902

Keywords