Mycobacterium marinum: A Case-Based Narrative Review of Diagnosis and Management

Abstract

Skin and soft tissue infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria are occurring more frequently in recent years. However, chronic skin and soft tissue lesions present a challenge for clinicians, as the diagnostic work-up and definitive diagnosis require knowledge and available laboratory resources. We present here the case of a 66-year-old male patient who presented with painful abscess-like nodules on his right hand and forearm, which worsened after treatment with an anti-TNF-a agent. The fluid specimen taken from the lesion was positive for mycobacteria according to the acid-fast stain. Mycobacterium marinum was identified, first by next-generation sequencing and finally grown on culture, after eight weeks. Acknowledging the complexity of diagnosing and managing infections by non-tuberculous mycobacteria, and especially Mycobacterium marinum, we provide a review of the current epidemiology, clinical characteristics, diagnosis and management of Mycobacterium marinum infection.

Successful diagnosis of Mycobacterium marinum infection by mNGS in a patient with Human Immunodeficiency Virus: a case report

“…Clinical identification of M. marinum is mainly through isolation of the bacterium from infected tissues or fluids, while the growth rate is low . Recently, molecular methods such as next generation sequencing (NGS) have been introduced into detecting M. marinum infection [13,14], confirmed by culture after a couple weeks after incubation, which exhibited excellent performance in early diagnosis of slow-growing or unculturable bacteria such as M. marinum. In this case report, the use of mNGS technology also showed advantages in identifying pathogens more accurately and quickly.…”