[A case of severe Legionella pneumonia in which survival was achieved without sequelae with the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)].

A 54-year-old man presented with fever and dyspnea about a week before his admission. We diagnosed Legionella pneumonia from his chest X-ray imaging which showed bilateral lobe consolidation excluding the left upper lobe, and his sputum culture yielded Legionella pneumophilla serogroup 1. Combination therapy with levofloxacin and rifampin was started on admission. However, the patient developed severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and then extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was initiated on the 2nd day. His respiratory status gradually improved after that and he was weaned from ECMO on the 7th day. He was discharged without sequelae on the 36th day. The outcome suggests that use of ECMO should be considered for patients with severe Legionella pneumonia.