TENOSYNOVITIS OF THE HAND DUE TO MYCOBACTERIUM MARINUM: A CASE REPORT AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Zhi Xie 1, Minmin Jiang 1, Xingchun Chen 2, Guanjing Wei 1, Nannan Pan 1 and Lili Li 1

Abstract

Mycobacterium marinum is an environmental opportunistic mycobacte-rium that usually causes superficial skin infections or invasive infections caused by having an open wound exposed to contaminated water. We report here the case of a 50-year-old female who developed tenosynovitis of the hand caused by M. marinum. She presented to the hospital with a 4-month history of right hand swelling and the other previous 2 weeks she developed purulent lesions of the same hand. She was treated with incision and drainage. A routine culture grew out acid-fast bacilli and polymerase chain reaction testing revealed M. marinum. She was given rifampin and clarithromycin for 8 months. The hand healed well without residuals. This case demonstrates that M. marinum can present as teno-synovitis. We also reviewed the literature.