Legionnaires' Disease
Legionnaires' Disease by Nurse.com is organized by Nurse.com - OnCourse Learning Corporation.
Description:
Legionnaires’ disease first appeared in July 1976, when an outbreak of a (then unknown) lung infection was found among attendees of the 58th annual convention of the American Legion held in Philadelphia. Legionella is naturally found in the environment. Legionella pneumophila is well recognized as a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia. In 2018, there were 10,000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reports indicate prevalence of Legionella infections has increased during the past 20 years. It is not known if this is due to better diagnostic techniques or changes in the environment.
Goal and Learning Outcomes:
The goal of this course is to provide nurses, laboratory technologists, and pharmacy technicians with information about Legionnaires’ disease including epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management.
After taking this course, you should be able to:
• Describe the characteristics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology of Legionella.
• Identify preferred testing methods for diagnosis.
• Discuss treatment options for Legionnaires’ disease.
Pharmacy Technologist objectives:
• Describe the clinical presentation of Legionella infection.
• List the risk factors for Legionnaires’ disease.
• Discuss preferred drugs used to treat Legionnaires’ disease.