Letter to the Editor

Characteristic Predictors that Increase the Pretest Probability of Legionnaires Disease: "Don’t Order a Test Just Because You Can" Revisited

Authors: Burke A. Cunha, MD

Abstract

To the Editor: I read with interest the article “Don’t Order a Test Just Because You Can” by Galen and colleagues on the overordering of diagnostic tests in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) for Streptococcus pneumoniae and Legionnaires disease (LD). The authors’ title summarizes the problem with the current test-driven approach to CAP diagnosis.1

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References

1. Galen BT, Fogerty RL, Juthani-Mehta M. Don’t order a test just because you can. South Med J 2015;108:251-253.
 
2. Cunha BA, Ortega AM. Atypical pneumonia. Extrapulmonary clues guide the way to diagnosis. Postgrad Med 1996;99:123Y128, 131-132.
 
3. Cunha BA. Legionnaires’ disease: clinical differentiation from typical and other atypical pneumonias. Infect Dis Clin North Am 2010;24:73-105.
 
4. Cunha BA. The clinical diagnosis of Legionnaires’ disease: the diagnostic value of combining non-specific laboratory tests. J Infect 2008;56:395-398.
 
5. Cunha BA, Wu G, Raza M. Clinical diagnosis of Legionnaire’s disease: six characteristic clinical predictors. Am J Med 2015;128:e21-e22.