MORAXELLA CATARRHALIS

MICROBIOLOGY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY: -

1. catarrhalis is an unencapsulated gram-negative diplococcus. Part of the normal flora of the upper airways, M. catarrhalis colonizes 33–100% of infants; the prevalence of colonization decreases steadily with age.

CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS: -

• M. catarrhalis causes 15–20% of cases of acute otitis media in children.

Acute otitis media caused by M. catarrhalis or NTHi is clinically milder than cases caused by S. pneumoniae, with less fever and a lower frequency of an erythematous, bulging tympanic membrane.

• M. catarrhalis accounts for ~20% of cases of acute bacterial sinusitis in children and for a smaller proportion in adults.
• In adults, M. catarrhalis is a common cause of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), accounting for ~10% of cases.
• M. catarrhalis is an infrequent cause of pneumonia. When it occurs, it generally, affects elderly pts with underlying cardiopulmonary disease.

DIAGNOSIS: -

Invasive procedures are needed to definitively identify the etiology of otitis media or sinusitis and are generally not performed. Isolation of M. catarrhalis from sputum samples from pts with COPD is suggestive, but not diagnostic, of M. catarrhalis as the cause.

HOMEOPATHIC MANAGEMENT: -

The medicines that can be thought of use are:-

• Arsenic album
• Belladonna
• Euphrasia
• Nat mur
• Aconite
• Allium cepa.