Health-Related Quality of Life and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Survivors of an Outbreak of Legionnaires Disease

• Published in: Clinical infectious diseases Vol. 35; no. 1; pp. 11 - 17
• Main Authors: Lettinga, Kamilla D., Verbon, Annelies, Nieuwkerk, Pythia T., Jonkers, Rene E., Gersons, Berthold P. R., Prins, Jan M., Speelman, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 01.07.2002; University of Chicago Press
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Analysis of Variance; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial diseases of the respiratory system; Biological and medical sciences; Disease Outbreaks; Fatigue - etiology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health Personnel; Hospital admissions; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Intensive care units; Legionnaires disease; Legionnaires' Disease - epidemiology; Legionnaires' Disease - psychology; Major Articles; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Netherlands - epidemiology; Pneumonia; Post traumatic stress disorder; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Standard score; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Survivors - psychology; Symptoms; Netherlands; Epidemic; Human; Lung disease; Pneumonia; Posttraumatic syndrome; Questionnaire; Respiratory disease; Anxiety disorder; Legionellosis; Legionnaires disease; Stress; Quality of life; Infection; Persistence; Symptomatology; Bacteriosis; Complication
• ISSN: 1058-4838; 1537-6591
• DOI: 10.1086/340738

A follow-up study of 122 survivors of an outbreak of legionnaires disease (LD) in The Netherlands was conducted to determine persistence of symptoms, health-related quality of life (HRQL), and presence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Seventeen months after diagnosis of LD, survivors completed a questionnaire assessing symptoms and HRQL and a questionnaire assessing PTSD. The most prevalent new symptoms were fatigue (in 75% of patients), neurologic symptoms (in 66%), and neuromuscular symptoms (in 63%). HRQL was impaired in 7 of the 8 dimensions assessed by the HRQL questionnaire, and 15% of patients experienced PTSD. Symptoms and impaired HRQL persisted for µ1.5 years. As a result of the design of this study, it could not be inferred whether Legionella pneumophila infection, severe pneumonia in general, or the outbreak situation was responsible for impaired well-being. However, awareness of this problem by health care providers may improve the aftercare of patients.