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Case Reports
. 2014 Nov 11:14:550.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-014-0550-z.

Mycobacterium fortuitum skin infections after subcutaneous injections with Vietnamese traditional medicine: a case report

Nguyen Phu Huong Lan  1   2 , Marion-Eliëtte Kolader  3   4 , Nguyen Van Dung  5   6   7 , James I Campbell  8   9   10 , Nguyen Thi Tham  11   12 , Nguyen Van Vinh Chau  13 , H Rogier van Doorn  14   15   16 , Dien Hoa Le  17
Affiliations
Case Reports

Mycobacterium fortuitum skin infections after subcutaneous injections with Vietnamese traditional medicine: a case report

Nguyen Phu Huong Lan et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Iatrogenic skin and soft tissue infections by rapidly growing mycobacteria are described with increasing frequency, especially among immunocompromised patients.

Case presentation: Here, we present an immunocompetent patient with extensive Mycobacterium fortuitum skin and soft tissue infections after subcutaneous injections to relieve joint pains by a Vietnamese traditional medicine practitioner. Moreover, we present dilemmas faced in less resourceful settings, influencing patient management.

Conclusion: This case illustrates the pathogenic potential of rapid growing mycobacteria in medical or non-medical skin penetrating procedures, their world-wide distribution and demonstrates the dilemmas faced in settings with fewer resources.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Top, left to right: pretreatment pictures of hands and feet at day 4 and during treatment at day 67, respectively. Bottom, left to right: two pictures of a Ziehl-Neelsen stain (1000X) of aspirated pus from the abscess on dorsal side of the patient’s right hand (acid-fast bacilli indicated with arrowheads), and a blood agar plate of aspirated pus showing non-pigmented dry colonies of Mycobacterium fortuitum after 4 days incubation (with two contaminating yellow colonies in the middle and bottom of the plate).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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