Infect Chemother.  2007 Feb;39(1):59-62.

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

• Park KW
• Kwon HH
• Chung SH
• Kim KC
• Choe JY
• Lee YH

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.

Keyword

Tenosynovitis; Nontuberculous mycobacterial infection; Rheumatoid arthritis

MeSH Terms

Adrenal Cortex Hormones
Animals
Arthritis, Rheumatoid*
Causality
Clarithromycin
Ethambutol
Humans
Joint Diseases
Joints
Musculoskeletal System
Mycobacterium avium Complex*
Mycobacterium*
Nontuberculous Mycobacteria
Rifampin
Risk Factors
Soil
Tenosynovitis*
Wrist
Adrenal Cortex Hormones
Clarithromycin
Ethambutol
Rifampin
Soil