Hemophilus influenzae in hospitalized adults: current perspectives

In an eight year period 16 cases of serious extrapulmonary Hemophilus influenzae infection in adults were identified, including cases of meningitis, pericarditis, epiglottitis, empyema, cellulitis, osteomyelitis, endometritis, urinary tract infection, orbital cellulitis, primary peritonitis, mesenteric lymphadenitis and aortic graft infection. An 18 month prospective study of H. influenzae infection in hospitalized adults identified 10 cases of bronchitis, 25 of pneumonia and 65 of respiratory tract colonization, but there were no extrapulmonary infections. In 29 percent of the respiratory tract infections, H. influenzae appeared to be a nosocomial pathogen; in 71 percent, the infection was mixed. Finally, 110 clinical isolates of H. influenzae were studied for antimicrobial susceptibility. Eight percent were ampicillin resistant, two strains were resistant to tetracycline and one to chloramphenicol, but all were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and cefamandole.