Soft Tissue Infection Caused by Rapid Growing Mycobacterium following Medical Procedures: Two Case Reports and Literature Review

Non-tubecrulosis mycobacterium infections were increasingly reported either pulmonary or extrapulmonary in the past decades. In Taiwan, we noticed several reports about the soft tissue infections caused by rapid growing mycobacterium such as Mycobacterium abscessus, Mycobacterium chelonae, on newspaper, magazines, or the multimedia. Most of them occurred after a plastic surgery, and medical or non-medical procedures. Here, we reported two cases of these infections following medical procedures. We also discussed common features and the clinical course of the disease, the characteristics of the infected site, and the treatment strategy. The literatures were also reviewed, and the necessity of the treatment guidelines was discussed.

A Mycobacterium Chelonae Subsp. abscessus Wound Infection After Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy / 대한내과학회지

Mycobacterium chelonae is a rapidly growing organism that has been found in water, soil, and dust. Although it can colonize healthy persons without sequelae, it can also cause skin and soft tissue infections, pulmonary infections and other sequelaes and rarely, disseminated disease in immunocompromised patients. But, infections due to rapidly growing mycobacteria are probably markedly underdiagnosed and these organisms are capable of causing a wide spectrum of clinical disease. We experienced a case of wound infection with M. chelonae after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and report with review of literatures.