Branhamella catarrhalis pneumonia in non-immunocompromised pediatric patients: report of three cases and review of the literature

Branhamella catarrhalis (B.c.) is found as a commensal in the upper respiratory tract of a healthy individual. We report three pediatric patients with bronchopneumonia allegedly caused by B. catarrhalis. All of them were intubated and on a mechanical ventilation (following either elective surgery or trauma) while the infection developed. Although B. catarrhalis has been thought to be penicillin sensitive, an increased frequency of β-lactamase producing B. catarrhalis has been noted recently. β-Lactamase positive B. catarrhalis is uniformly resistant to ampicillin and its susceptibility to the cephalosporins is quite variable. All the isolated strains were found susceptible to vancomycin. The three patients improved while being on therapy with vancomycin and peripheral airway cultures became sterile.