[A Case of Severe Pneumonia and Usefulness of LAMP Assay].

Urinary antigen test is frequently used as a routine laboratory test for early diagnosis of , which is especially suitable for ordinary serogroup 1, but not for other types of . We report a case of severe pneumonia caused by , where a method of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay contributed an important role for the early detection. This case involved an 83-year-old man who developed fever, dyspnea, and productive cough. Since the medication of prescribed ceftriaxone had not been effective, he visited the emergency room of our hospital, where an X-ray revealed a severe pneumonia harboring a consolidation with air bronchogram in his right lower lung. His sputum and urine were subjected to the routine bacterial culture or the urinary antigen test for , which initially brought negative results. However, a positive result of LAMP assay enabled early diagnosis of . Later, the bacterial cultures of sputum made some progress and 16S rRNA sequencing provided a proof of . This LAMP assay may bring a benefit for the patients with by enabling early detection of not only specific serogroup 1, but also of the other species.