Other Syndromes Local extension causing empyema is very uncommon, and—as might be inferred from the low rate of bacteremia—metastatic complications of M. catarrhalis pneumonia, such as septic arthritis, are exceedingly rare. As of 1995, 58 cases of bacteremic infection due to M. catarrhalis had been reported, mainly in children 60 years old; most of these patients had severe underlying lung disease and/or were immunocompromised. The syndromes reported have included bacteremia with no apparent focus, pneumonia, endocarditis, and meningitis. A petechial or purpuric rash, reminiscent of that observed in meningococcal sepsis and associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation, has been described in.
