Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32296816›Full record

SynthesisClinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America2021

Are Fluoroquinolones or Macrolides Better for Treating Legionella Pneumonia? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Annie S Jasper, Jackson S Musuuza, Jessica S Tischendorf, Vanessa W Stevens, Shantini D Gamage, Fauzia Osman, Nasia Safdar

Open access · greenAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed
3.1field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

29 citing papers in PubMed, 57 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Observational
  3. Infection and drug resistance · 2026
    Review
  4. Case Report: CavitaryFrontiers in medicine · 2026
    Article
  5. A case of severeRespiratory medicine case reports · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. ASM case reports · 2025
    Article
  9. Observational
  10. Article
  11. Design, Synthesis, andPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Severe Legionnaires' disease.Annals of intensive care · 2024
    Review
  19. Characteristics ofAntimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2024
    Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Annie S JasperWilliam S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Jackson S MusuuzaWilliam S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Jessica S TischendorfDivision of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Vanessa W StevensInformatics, Decision Enhancement, and Analytic Sciences Center of Innovation, Veterans Affairs (VA) Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Shantini D GamageNational Infectious Diseases Service, Specialty Care Services, Veterans Health Administration, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, USA.
Fauzia OsmanDivision of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Nasia SafdarWilliam S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
University of Wisconsin–Madison · USWilliam S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital · USUniversity of Cincinnati Medical Center · USVA Salt Lake City Healthcare System · US

Funding

Modelling applications and systems engineering to reduce infections_the MASTERI study.DP2AI144244 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI SAFDAR, NASIA · 2018 to 2018
$2.3M
NIAID NIH HHS DP2 AI144244
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends either a fluoroquinolone or a macrolide as a first-line antibiotic treatment for Legionella pneumonia, but it is unclear which antibiotic leads to optimal clinical outcomes. We compared the effectiveness of fluoroquinolone versus macrolide monotherapy in Legionella pneumonia using a systematic review and meta-analysis.

methodsWe conducted a systematic search of literature in PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception to 1 June 2019. Randomized controlled trials and observational studies comparing macrolide with fluoroquinolone monotherapy using clinical outcomes in patients with Legionella pneumonia were included. Twenty-one publications out of an initial 2073 unique records met the selection criteria. Following PRISMA guidelines, 2 reviewers participated in data extraction. The primary outcome was mortality. Secondary outcomes included clinical cure, time to apyrexia, length of hospital stay (LOS), and the occurrence of complications. The review and meta-analysis was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42019132901).

resultsTwenty-one publications with 3525 patients met inclusion criteria. The mean age of the population was 60.9 years and 67.2% were men. The mortality rate for patients treated with fluoroquinolones was 6.9% (104/1512) compared with 7.4% (133/1790) among those treated with macrolides. The pooled odds ratio assessing risk of mortality for patients treated with fluoroquinolones versus macrolides was 0.94 (95% confidence interval, .71-1.25, I2 = 0%, P = .661). Clinical cure, time to apyrexia, LOS, and the occurrence of complications did not differ for patients treated with fluoroquinolones versus macrolides.

conclusionsWe found no difference in the effectiveness of fluoroquinolones versus macrolides in reducing mortality among patients with Legionella pneumonia.

Indexed as

Community-Acquired InfectionsLegionellaPneumoniaAnti-Bacterial AgentsFluoroquinolonesHumansMacrolidesMaleMiddle AgedAnti-Bacterial AgentsFluoroquinolonesMacrolidesfluoroquinolonesLegionella pneumoniaLegionnaire’s diseasemacrolides

Identifiers

PMID32296816
PMCPMC8315122
OpenAlexW3016388400

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.