title: Branhamella catarrhalis pneumonia: report of 4 cases.
abstract: This is the first time Branhamella Catarrhalis has been identified as a lower respiratory tract pathogen in Taiwan. All 4 patients with B. catarrhalis pneumonia reported herein had a certain degree of underlying pulmonary dysfunction. Two patients had pure B. catarrhalis infection, whilst the other two had concomitant infections with Haemophilus influenzae or Viridans streptococci. Amongst the 3 strains of B. catarrhalis examined, all were capable of producing beta-lactamase. By using the Kirby-Bauer method, 2 of these strains were observed as penicillin resistant. Therefore, patients with poor clinical response to penicillin, ampicillin, and cephapirin were treated effectively with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole or ofloxacin. B. catarrhalis should no longer be regarded as a normal flora of the sputum in patients with lower respiratory tract infections. Beta-lactamase production should be tested for each isolated strain to avoid failure of penicillin therapy due to bacterial resistance.
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: I K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001936:Moraxella catarrhalis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000209:etiology*; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D001618:beta-Lactamases