Pulmonary Mycobacterium fortuitum Infection with Cervical Lymphadenitis in a Patient Carrying Autoantibodies to Interferon-γ

Kenichi Suzuki; Jiro Terada; Yuka Sasaki; Takeshi Kawasaki; Yusuke Naito; Takayuki Sakurai; Nobuhiro Tanabe; Koichiro Tatsumi

doi:10.2169/internalmedicine.53.1931

CASE REPORTS

Pulmonary Mycobacterium fortuitum Infection with Cervical Lymphadenitis in a Patient Carrying Autoantibodies to Interferon-γ

Kenichi Suzuki, Jiro Terada, Yuka Sasaki, Takeshi Kawasaki, Yusuke Naito, Takayuki Sakurai, Nobuhiro Tanabe, Koichiro Tatsumi

Author information

Kenichi Suzuki
Department of Respirology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan
Jiro Terada
Department of Respirology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan
Yuka Sasaki
Fukujuji Hospital, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association, Japan
Takeshi Kawasaki
Department of Respirology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan
Yusuke Naito
Department of Respirology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan
Takayuki Sakurai
Department of Respirology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan
Nobuhiro Tanabe
Department of Respirology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan
Koichiro Tatsumi
Department of Respirology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan

Keywords: nontuberculous mycobacterium, autoantibodies to interferon-gamma, human immunodeficiency virus

JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

2014 Volume 53 Issue 12 Pages 1361-1364

DOI https://doi.org/10.2169/internalmedicine.53.1931

Details

Abstract

A 74-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for an evaluation of unidentified pneumonia. She gradually developed a high-grade fever with a growing infiltrative shadow on chest CT and an enlarging bilateral cervical mass. She was diagnosed with a pulmonary Mycobacterium fortuitum (M. fortuitum) infection with cervical lymphadenitis based on the results of an open biopsy of the cervical lymph node. While the patient's clinical condition resolved almost completely after treatment with multiple antibiotics, neutralizing autoantibodies to interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) were identified in her serum. The progression of disseminated M. fortuitum infection in immunocompetent patients may be affected by the presence of autoantibodies to IFN-γ.

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