Skin and soft tissue infection by Mycobacterium intracellulare in an immunocompetent patient
Alessio Pampaloni,
Salvatore Tosto,
Maria Elena Locatelli,
Adele Gentile,
Daniele Scuderi,
Andrea Marino,
Federica Cosentino,
Vittoria Moscatt,
Giuseppe Nunnari,
Bruno Cacopardo
Affiliations
Alessio Pampaloni
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, ARNAS Garibaldi Nesima Hospital, University of Catania, Catania, Italy; Corresponding author.
Salvatore Tosto
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, ARNAS Garibaldi Nesima Hospital, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Maria Elena Locatelli
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, ARNAS Garibaldi Nesima Hospital, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Adele Gentile
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, ARNAS Garibaldi Nesima Hospital, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Daniele Scuderi
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, ARNAS Garibaldi Nesima Hospital, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Andrea Marino
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, ARNAS Garibaldi Nesima Hospital, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Federica Cosentino
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, ARNAS Garibaldi Nesima Hospital, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Vittoria Moscatt
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, ARNAS Garibaldi Nesima Hospital, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Giuseppe Nunnari
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
Bruno Cacopardo
Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, ARNAS Garibaldi Nesima Hospital, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections still represent a large group of insidious diseases hard to deal with. Traditionally, immunocompromised patients suffer from NTM infections, especially with respiratory involvement or disseminated diseases due to MAC (Mycobacterium avium complex). Here we report a rare case of Mycobacterium intracellulare infection involving skin and soft tissue, manifested as a chronic cutaneous ulcer in an immunocompetent patient with several comorbidities, including seizures. Accurate diagnosis of species was obtained with in vitro culture and RT-PCR (Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction) following a high clinical suspicion. Despite the high complexity of NTM infections, it is possible to achieve diagnostic goals through the appropriate employment of recent DNA-molecular technologies and an adequate management. Keywords: Skin soft tissue infection, NTM, MAC, Mycobacterium intracellulare, Immunocompetent