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

Park, Sunghoon; Suh, Gee Young; Chung, Man Pyo; Kim, Hojoong; Kwon, O Jung; Koh, Won Jung

doi:2008.64.4.293

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 64(4); 2008 > Article

Case Report

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2008;64(4):293-297.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2008.64.4.293 Published online April 1, 2008.

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

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

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

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.

Key Words: Mycobacterium fortuitum, Atypical mycobacteria, Lung disease