title: Should sputum isolates of Haemophilus influenzae be serotyped?
abstract: In a patient with pneumonia, sputum culture revealed ampicillin-resistant Haemophilus influenzae, type b. Although nontypable H influenzae is a normal inhabitant of the upper respiratory tract and should be considered normal flora, typable H influenzae is found in less than 5% of healthy persons. Although only 1.8% of sputum cultures reveal typable H influenzae, these strains account for 98.3% of isolates from blood cultures of patients with pneumonia due to H influenzae. Serotyping of sputum isolates is recommended in patients with pneumonia to separate pathogenic typable strains from nonpathogenic nontypable strains.
mesh_terms: D002435:Cefamandole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010403:Penicillin Resistance; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D012703:Serotyping; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D002435:Cefamandole