Successful treatment of Bordetella bronchiseptica pneumonia by minocycline in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies-associated vasculitis patient

Abstract

Bordetella bronchiseptica is a bacterial pathogen usually isolated from animals and rarely causes human infections. There are, however, some reports that B. bronchiseptica causes human respiratory infections in immunocompromised patients or those with underlying respiratory diseases, although there is a lack of treatment guidelines. An 80-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital to treat anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies-associated vasculitis. On the 16th day after admission, she complained of a productive cough with right pleuritic pain and had low-grade fever. After chest CT scans, we diagnosed pneumonia. Gram stain of her sputum revealed moderate levels of gram-negative coccobacilli, which was later identified as B. bronchiseptica by mass spectrometry. According to the result of minimum inhibitory concentration, we successfully treated the pneumonia with minocycline. This case suggests that B. bronchiseptica pneumonia can be treated by minocycline if the minimum inhibitory concentration is less than 0.25 μg/mL.

Keywords: Bordetella bronchiseptica; Immunocompromised host; Minocycline; Pneumonia.