title: Branhamella catarrhalis as a cause of pneumonia in a patient with miliary tuberculosis.
abstract: Branhamella catarrhalis is increasingly reported as a cause of pneumonia in the immunocompromised host. The authors here report what they believe to be a unique case of B catarrhalis bronchopneumonia in a patient who had previously acquired miliary tuberculosis. The patient initially responded to medication but died suddenly following a brief episode of febrile illness. At autopsy, several lines of evidence implicated B catarrhalis in the findings. The authors review the literature regarding cases of lower respiratory tract infection reportedly caused by B catarrhalis. Their own conclusion is that B catarrhalis infection is not necessarily caused by abnormal immunoglobulin, as some workers have suggested, but rather by damaged lung tissue in general and damaged bronchoalveolar cells in particular.
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Nyong'o
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gadberry
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Silverbrook
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Silverbrook
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Kavanaugh
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D001996:Bronchopneumonia / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D001936:Moraxella catarrhalis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014391:Tuberculosis, Miliary / Q000150:complications*