A Case of Tenosynovitis Due to Mycobacterium intracellulare in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis

ABSTRACT

Nontuberculous mycobacteria are ubiquitous organisms that are frequently present in the water, soil and animal reservoirs. Nontuberculous mycobacterial infections of the musculoskeletal system are rare and usually associated with predisposing factors, such as prior joint disease, trauma, use of intraarticular or oral corticosteroids, or an immunocompromised state. A sixty five-year-old patient with rheumatoid arthritis was hospitalized due to swelling on the left wrist. M. intracellulare was cultured from the aspirated joint fluid. The patient was successfully treated with clarithromycin, ethambutol, and rifampin. We report this case with review, emphasizing high suspicion for nontuberculous mycobacterial infection in patients with predisposing risk factors.