Invasive infection with Moraxella catarrhalis in two children with lymphatic leukemia and granulocytopenia

In two young children with leukaemia, a girl and a boy aged 5 and 4 years, respectively, an invasive infection due to Moraxella catarrhalis was diagnosed at the time of granulocytopenia. They were treated with antibiotics. The first child developed pneumonia and recovered, the other developed severe septic shock and died. M. catarrhalis is a Gram-negative diplococcus, frequently colonising the upper respiratory tract in young children. In childhood this pathogen mainly causes infections such as otitis media and sinusitis, while in adults it primarily causes laryngitis, bronchitis and pneumonia. Immunocompromised patients or patients with chronic cardiopulmonary disease have an increased risk of severe infections.