Long Term Effects of Legionnaires' Disease - Lung Damage, Fatigue, Mortality Risk

Long Term Effects of Legionnaires’ Disease

Legionnaires' disease is a serious form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. If not properly treated, Legionnaires' can lead to long-lasting effects on one's respiratory health, physical abilities, and quality of life.

About Legionnaires’ Disease

Legionnaires' disease occurs when someone inhales small droplets of water contaminated with Legionella bacteria. The bacteria infect the lungs and cause pneumonia-like illness. Symptoms include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, muscle aches, headaches, and gastrointestinal distress. Around 1 in 10 cases are fatal if not promptly treated with antibiotics.

Long Term Lung Damage

For survivors of Legionnaires’ disease, the lungs often suffer permanent damage. The infection leaves scar tissue and pockets of dead lung tissue unable to participate in oxygen exchange. This loss of lung function is the most common lingering result.

Those with Legionnaires’ typically recover some lost function with time. However, X-rays frequently show visible scarring and abnormalities long after the initial illness subsides. The amount of permanent lung damage relates closely to how early appropriate antibiotics were started.

Ongoing Respiratory Problems

The lung damage caused by Legionella infection commonly causes persistent respiratory symptoms, even after patients meet recovery criteria. Individuals frequently experience:

• Shortness of breath with minor exertion
• Wheezing, coughing, and excess phlegm production
• Decreased ability to exercise or perform physical tasks
• Higher risk of developing pneumonia again in the future
• Increased exacerbations of existing lung disease like COPD or asthma

For some, smoking cigarettes after Legionnaires’ disease substantially worsens lasting respiratory problems due to synergistic damage effects.

Higher Risk of Respiratory Failure

Legionella pneumonia can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in some patients while infected. This means the lungs become severely inflamed and fill with fluid, preventing adequate oxygen absorption.

Recovery from ARDS often includes permanent thinning of the lung tissue’s blood vessels and cell abnormalities. This means the lungs have a diminished reserve capacity going forward. As such, those who suffered respiratory failure with Legionnaires’ have higher odds of developing chronic respiratory insufficiency later in life.

Increased Fatigue & Physical Impairment

Due to extensive lung damage, survivors of Legionella infection frequently battle abnormally high levels of fatigue for months or years. Oxygen is essential for energy production, so degraded lung function takes a major toll.

The fatigue and exercise intolerance caused by Legionnaires’ decreased lung capacity also contributes substantially to long term physical disability and inability to work. The aftermath prevents some individuals from ever returning to their previous activity levels.

Higher Risk of Cognitive Impairment

Recent studies have found that severe pneumonia often has negative neurological effects that continue after recovering from the acute infection. It’s believed that inflammation spreading to the brain during illness causes subtle damage.

As a result, survivors of serious Legionnaires’ disease have a heightened risk of developing cognitive impairment and memory problems as they age. More research is still needed, but this consequence is now well-documented among those who have suffered other types of pneumonia.

Increased Mortality Rate

Due to permanent lung damage and the toll taken on overall health, studies show a notably increased rate of death among Legionnaires survivors vs the general population. The higher mortality rate persists for at least 5-10 years post-infection.

Underlying causes include increased susceptibility to lung infections, heart failure, respiratory arrest, and complications from other chronic health conditions.

Preventing Legionnaires’ Disease

As Legionnaires’ disease can inflict severe, long term harm on survivors, prevention is extremely important for those at higher risk of exposure/infection:

• Avoid exposure to contaminated water sources when possible in places like hotels, cruise ships, hospitals, etc.
• Those with lung conditions should use special caution to avoid Legionella bacteria exposure from taps, showers, misting systems, decorative fountains, hot tubs, etc.
• Get prompt medical attention for pneumonia symptoms like cough, fever, trouble breathing instead of waiting it out at home.

Prevention of outbreaks also relies on proper maintenance of building water systems that can harbor Legionella growth when not carefully managed.

Recovery Outlook

The long-term outlook for Legionnaires’ survivors depends greatly on the severity of initial infection, how quickly treatment began, age, underlying health status, and other factors.

With appropriate follow-up care like medication, pulmonary rehabilitation, smoking cessation, and lung function monitoring, some fully regain pre-illness quality of life over time. However, the majority face lifelong effects to some degree, underscoring the importance of increased awareness and prevention.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.