Recurrent granulomatous tenosynovitis of the wrist and finger caused by Mycobacterium intracellulare: a case report

Nonmarinum, Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Infections of the Upper Extremity: A Multi-Institutional Descriptive Report

PURPOSE

We analyzed patient demographic factors involved in the development of nonmarinum, nontuberculous mycobacterial infections (NTMI) involving the upper extremity, and assessed diagnostic and prognostic values of commonly used preoperative laboratory and imaging studies, as well as factors related to recurrence of disease and patient outcomes.

METHODS

Patients from 2 academic, tertiary facilities with culture-proven, nonmarinum NTMI involving the upper extremity were reviewed. Patient-related factors and clinical outcomes were extracted. The analysis was based on pathogen identification (rapid- vs slow-growing subspecies) and immune status.

RESULTS

Our 76 patients had a mean age of 59 years, and 65% were male. Forty-eight percent reported an injury, and hands were frequently involved (58%). Forty-one percent were immunosuppressed (19% organ transplant recipients). The mean symptom duration prior to presentation was 203 days. The culture identification took a mean of 33 days, with 25 different species identified (subcategorized as rapid or slow growers). Seventy-seven percent had solitary lesions, with a cutaneous or subcutaneous location most common. Immunosuppressed patients were treated longer with antibiotics (243 vs 155 days in immunocompetent patients) and experienced higher rates of side effects, complications, and recurrence. All patients underwent debridement to control infection, including 4 individuals who required amputations. One-third experienced complications and/or recurrence, regardless of the organism type.

CONCLUSIONS

Upper-extremity nonmarinum NTMI is often misdiagnosed, causing management delays. Early consideration in differential diagnoses of chronic, painful swelling, nodular or inflammatory lesions, or septic arthritis is crucial. Tissue biopsy with specimens for histopathology and microbiological analysis (mycobacterial smear, cultures, and broad range polymerase chain reaction) and early involvement with an infectious disease specialist are recommended. Empiric antibiotic therapy is not standard. Debridement and prolonged, directed combination antimicrobial therapy is required; however, adverse reactions are commonly encountered.

TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic IV.

Septic Mycobacterium Avium Intracellulare Extensor Tenosynovitis of the Wrist

Mycobacterium avium intracellulare (MAI) infections of the hand, wrist, and upper extremity are rare, but potentially devastating atypical mycobacterial infections that can affect tendon, bone, and other soft tissues of the musculoskeletal system. We present an immunocompromised patient presenting with acute swelling and pain in the dorsum of the hand and wrist that underwent a wrist extensor tenosynovectomy with intraoperative cultures revealing infection with MAI. The patient developed severe progression of the infection with osteomyelitis of the distal forearm and carpal bones, multiple subsequent extensor tendon ruptures, and dorsal skin necrosis. The infection was eradicated with a combination of surgical treatment and antibiotic therapy. The case is discussed in context of the prior scant literature of infectious tenosynovitis of the hand, wrist, and upper extremity caused by MAI. This case report and literature review outline recommendations for diagnosis and effective treatment of MAI.

A Cluster of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Tenosynovitis Following Hurricane Relief Efforts

BACKGROUND

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are a rare cause of infectious tenosynovitis of the upper extremity. Using molecular methods, clinical microbiology laboratories are increasingly reporting identification down to the species level. Improved methods for speciation are revealing new insights into the clinical and epidemiologic features of rare NTM infections.

METHODS

We encountered 3 cases of epidemiologically linked upper extremity NTM tenosynovitis associated with exposure to hurricane-damaged wood. We conducted whole-genome sequencing to assess isolate relatedness followed by a literature review of NTM infections that involved the upper extremity.

RESULTS

Despite shared epidemiologic risk, the cases were caused by 3 distinct organisms. Two cases were rare infections caused by closely related but distinct species within the Mycobacterium terrae complex that could not be differentiated by traditional methods. The third case was caused by Mycobacterium intracellulare. An updated literature review that focused on research that used modern molecular speciation methods found that several species within the M. terrae complex are increasingly reported as a cause of upper extremity tenosynovitis, often in association with environmental exposures.

CONCLUSIONS

These cases illustrate the importance of molecular methods for speciating phenotypically similar NTM, as well as the limitations of laboratory-based surveillance in detecting point-source outbreaks when the source is environmental and may involve multiple organisms.

Ex Juvantibus Diagnosis of Recurrent Granulomatous Flexor Tenosynovitis: Insidious Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Objective

We report a case of recurrent painful and disabling granulomatous flexor tenosynovitis of the right wrist in 50-year-old female patient.

Summary of background data

The proper diagnosis was made ex juvantibus after repeated cultivation of Mycobacteria yielded negative results and local disease control was surgically unsuccessful.

Methods

It was then decided to start at first with oral clarithromycin at 500 mg, 2 times daily, during 6-month period throughout which there was no sign of local recurrence. However, synovectomy had to be performed 3 times in total during the period of 2 years. Although the noninfectious causes were excluded, and infectious agent was not to be determined, the decision was made to administer full anti-tuberculosis medication therapy. At about the same time, we were finally able to obtain a positive Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture after a sudden onset of right axillary lymphadenitis, but only two and half years from the occurrence of first symptoms related to right wrist tenosynovitis.

Combined administration of rifampicin, ethambutol, and clarithromycin for the treatment of tenosynovitis of the hand caused by Mycobacterium avium complex: Case series and literature review

ABSTRACT

We report the clinical results and problems of combined administration of rifampicin, ethambutol, and clarithromycin (REC) for the treatment of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection of the hand (hand MAC).Participants included 7 patients with hand MAC. After resection of the infected lesion, REC was prescribed for 12 months. For these patients, the site of infection, clinical course after initiation of REC, adverse drug effects (ADEs), and incidence of recurrence were evaluated.Sites of infection were the flexor tenosynovium in 5 patients, extensor tenosynovium in 1 patient, and both flexor and extensor tenosynovium in 1 patient. ADEs of REC occurred in 5 patients, and included visual disturbance caused by ethambutol in 2 patients, liver function abnormality caused by rifampicin in 2 patients, and fever with diarrhea caused by rifampicin in 1 patient. For 2 of these 5 patients, desensitization therapy was applied and REC was able to be reinstated. In the remaining 3 patients, the causative drugs were discontinued and levofloxacin, a new quinolone, was administered. Complete healing was achieved in 5 patients, and recurrence was observed in 2 patients. These 2 patients with recurrence included 1 patient in whom REC was completed and 1 patient in whom REC therapy was modified due to ADE.REC provided relatively good clinical results as a treatment for hand MAC. However, recurrences were observed even after the completion of REC and the use of an alternative drug. Optimal duration of REC and appropriate alternative drugs need to be identified in the future.

Atypical Mycobacterial Septic Arthritis of the Wrist: A Report of Two Cases

CASES

Two patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) developed wrist pain following the initiation of antiretroviral treatment, and were diagnosed with chronic atypical mycobacterial septic arthritis. Aggressive operative debridement led to clinical improvement, provided tissue samples for diagnosis, and allowed for a targeted long-term antibacterial regimen.

CONCLUSION

Clinicians should consider atypical mycobacterial organisms as a cause of joint infection in patients with HIV. Symptoms may become apparent after patients experience immune system recovery following antiretroviral treatment.

Atypical Hand Infections

Atypical infections of the hand are caused by organisms such as Mycobacterium, fungi, and viruses, and often do not respond to conventional management. They exist within a wide spectrum of presentations, ranging from cutaneous lesions to deep infections such as tenosynovitis and osteomyelitis. Having a high clinical suspicion for atypical hand infections is vital because diagnosis often requires special tests and/or cultures. Obtaining a detailed medical, work, and travel history is extremely important. An indolent clinical course, late diagnosis, and delayed treatment are common. In addition to medical therapies, surgical debridement is often required to effectively treat these infections.

Radical surgical debridement alone for treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome caused by mycobacterium avium complex flexor tenosynovitis: case report

We present a case of proliferative flexor tenosynovitis caused by Mycobacterium avium complex resulting in recurrent symptoms of median nerve compression. The patient was treated with radical tenosynovectomy and release of the carpal tunnel without antimicrobial therapy. She remains symptom-free and is apparently disease-free more than 2 years after surgery.

[Bursitis due to Mycobacterium intracellulare in an immunocompetent patient]

BACKGROUND

Cutaneous infections due to Mycobacterium intracellulare are infrequent. We report a case of bursitis in an immunocompetent patient.

CASE-REPORT

A 80-year-old patient with a history of tuberculosis reported swelling of the elbow for six months with effusion due to olecranon bursitis, progressing to an abscess and skin ulceration. Examination of the synovial fluid revealed the presence of M. intracellulare. Histologic investigations showed epithelioid and gigantocellular granulations. Screening for immunodepression was negative. Treatment with clarithromycin and rifabutin proved effective, with partial healing at three months, although hepatic and ocular side effects occurred.

DISCUSSION

While osteomyelitis, arthritis and cutaneous infections due to M. intracellulare have been described in immunocompromised patients, there are very few reported cases concerning immunocompetent individuals, and these suggest the possibility of special individual sensitivity to mycobacterial infections. Genetic mutations of the interleukin-12-interferon-gamma pathway involved in the immune response to mycobacterial infections have been demonstrated. Autoantibodies against interferon-gamma have also been described. Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare is resistant to the classical antibiotics used in tuberculosis. As in pulmonary infections, antibiotics with proven in vivo and in vitro efficacy must be used, taking into account the antibiogram and potential side effects, particularly for combined clarithromycin and rifabutin.

CONCLUSION

This case report emphasizes the benefits of routine mycobacterial investigation of synovial fluid samples.

Sarcoidal granulomatous tenosynovitis of the hands occurring in an organ transplant patient

Six years after kidney-pancreas transplant, a 47-year-old white man developed multiple subcutaneous and tenosynovial nodules of hands and wrists, limiting mobility. Biopsy of multiple nodules showed fibrosing, sarcoidal granulomas, some of which contained pigmented material. Microbiology, immunohistochemistry, scanning electron microscopy with backscattered electron imaging and energy dispersive X-ray analysis and polymerase chain reaction assays failed to show any infectious agents or foreign material. There was no historical, clinical or laboratory evidence of systemic sarcoidosis. It is not known whether the donor had sarcoidosis. Despite empiric antimycobacterial therapy and ongoing immunosuppressive therapy (corticosteroids, mycophenolate, cyclosporine), the man has progressively developed more nodules, limiting hand function. Sarcoidosis occurring in non-donor tissue post-transplantation is an exceedingly rare complication of transplantation. We discuss this case and review the literature on sarcoidal tenosynovitis and sarcoidosis occurring post-transplantation.