Summary

A 77-year-old man presented himself with shortness of breath that was initially felt to be due to an acute coronary event, largely due to a very elevated troponin I result and his medical history. He subsequently showed evidence to suggest a significant pneumonia. The most likely candidate organism responsible, from the history and test results, appeared to be Legionella. We present the case for a spuriously and extremely elevated troponin I result, being at least in part due the production of heterophil antibodies by Legionella.