Mycobacterium avium-Mycobacterium intracellulare infection limited to the skin and lymph nodes in patients with AIDS.

Three patients with AIDS who were taking 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) developed cutaneous abscesses from which Mycobacterium avium-Mycobacterium intracellulare was isolated. Culture of multiple blood samples and bone marrow aspirate from all three patients revealed that the infection was not disseminated. This is a rare form of presentation for this infection in AIDS patients. We speculate that the antiviral drug AZT was responsible for the localization of disease.