Chin N K, Kumarasinghe G, Lim T K
Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore.
Singapore Med J. 1993 Oct;34(5):409-11.
Moraxella catarrhalis (MC) is an upper respiratory tract commensal which may also be pathogenic. In this report we examined the clinical features, microbiology and therapeutic response in 30 consecutive adult patients with pneumonia who had MC isolated in the sputum. The mean age was 66 years with an equal sex ratio. Most patients gave a history of cigarette smoking (77%) and had underlying pulmonary diseases (73%). Dyspnea and productive cough were the most common complaints (87%). Fever was a manifestation in 60% of patients. Chest X-ray features of pneumonia were noted in 78% of patients while leucocytosis (> 11,000/mm3) was evident in 70%. While all isolates were susceptible to tetracycline, 70% were resistant to penicillin/ampicillin by in-vitro testing. Three patients died, two from their underlying illnesses and one from myocardial infarct. We believe that MC isolated in sputum cultures from symptomatic adults with underlying respiratory diseases should be treated as a pathogen. The short term prognosis is good.
卡他莫拉菌（MC）是一种上呼吸道共生菌，也可能具有致病性。在本报告中，我们研究了30例连续的成年肺炎患者的临床特征、微生物学及治疗反应，这些患者痰液中分离出了卡他莫拉菌。平均年龄为66岁，男女比例相等。大多数患者有吸烟史（77%）且患有基础肺部疾病（73%）。呼吸困难和咳痰是最常见的主诉（87%）。60%的患者有发热表现。78%的患者胸部X线有肺炎表现，70%的患者白细胞增多（>11,000/mm³）。虽然所有分离株对四环素敏感，但体外试验显示70%对青霉素/氨苄西林耐药。3例患者死亡，2例死于基础疾病，1例死于心肌梗死。我们认为，从有症状的患有基础呼吸道疾病的成年人痰液培养中分离出的卡他莫拉菌应被视为病原体。短期预后良好。
