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Park, Suh, Chung, Kim, Kwon, and Koh: Successful Treatment of Mycobacterium fortuitum Lung Disease with Oral Antibiotic Therapy: a Case Report
Case Report
Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2008; 64(4): 293-297.

Published online: 30 April 2008

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2008.64.4.293

Successful Treatment of Mycobacterium fortuitum Lung Disease with Oral Antibiotic Therapy: a Case Report

Sunghoon Park, M.D., Gee Young Suh, M.D., Man Pyo Chung, M.D., Hojoong Kim, M.D., O Jung Kwon, M.D., Won-Jung Koh, M.D.

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Address for correspondence: Won-Jung Koh, M.D. Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Iron-dong, Gangnamgu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. Phone: 82-2-3410-3429, Fax: 82-2-3410-6956, wjkoh@skku.edu

Received 24 February 2008       Accepted 16 April 2008

Copyright © 2008 The Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases

Abstract

Mycobacterium fortuitum usually causes colonization or transient infection in patients with underlying lung disease, such as prior tuberculosis or bronchiectasis. The majority of these patients may not need to receive antibiotic therapy for M. fortuitum isolates. We report here on a patient with M. fortuitum lung disease and who was successfully treated with combination oral antibiotic therapy. A 53-year-old woman was referred to our institution because of purulent sputum and dyspnea. A chest radiograph and computed tomography scan revealed cavitary consolidation in the left upper lobe and multiple small cavities in the left lower lobe. Numerous acid-fast bacilli (AFB) were seen in multiple sputum specimens and M. fortuitum was identified by culture from the sputum specimens. The patient received antibiotic treatment including clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole, because her symptoms were worsening despite conservative treatment. Sputum conversion was achieved after one month of antibiotic therapy. Both the patient's symptoms and radiographic findings improved after 10 months of antibiotic therapy.

Keywords: Mycobacterium fortuitum, Atypical mycobacteria, Lung disease

Figures and Tables

Figure 1
A 53-year-old woman with Mycobacterium fortuitum lung disease. The chest radiography shows a large cavitary consolidation in the left upper lobe (A). Reformatted coronal CT shows essentially the same findings as in A, with a large cavitary consolidation in the left upper lobe (B). Also note multiple nodules and consolidations in the left lower lobe.
trd-64-293-g001
Figure 2
A 53-year-old woman with Mycobacterium fortuitum lung disease. Before antibiotic treatment, chest CT shows the peribronchial consolidation in the lingular segment of the left upper lobe and multiple cavities in the left lower lobe (A, B). After 10 months of antibiotic treatment, chest CT shows improvement of the peribronchial consolidation (C, D). Also note improvement of multiple cavitary lesions in the left lower lobe.
trd-64-293-g002

Notes

This work was supported by the SRC/ERC program of MOST/KOSEF (R11-2002-103).

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