Dogra Megha, Thakur Manish, Thakur Garima, Kumar Amrat
Internal Medicine, Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, Cooperstown, USA.
Internal Medicine, Cayuga Medical Center, Ithaca, USA.
Cureus. 2023 Feb 2;15(2):e34561. doi: 10.7759/cureus.34561. eCollection 2023 Feb.
Mycobacterium xenopi is a slow-growing, acid-fast, non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM). It is often considered to be a saprophyte or an environmental contaminant. Mycobacterium xenopi has low pathogenicity and is usually seen in patients with pre-existing chronic lung diseases and immunocompromised patients. We present a case of Mycobacterium xenopi causing a cavitary lesion in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that was discovered incidentally during the low-dose CT scan done for lung cancer screening in a patient with COPD. The initial workup was negative for NTM. An Interventional-guided (IR) core needle biopsy was done given the high suspicion for NTM and revealed a positive culture for Mycobacterium xenopi. Our case highlights the importance of considering NTM in the differential diagnosis of at-risk patients and pursuing invasive testing if there is a high clinical suspicion.
偶发分枝杆菌是一种生长缓慢、抗酸的非结核分枝杆菌（NTM）。它通常被认为是一种腐生菌或环境污染物。偶发分枝杆菌致病性较低，常见于患有慢性肺部疾病的患者和免疫功能低下的患者。我们报告了一例偶发分枝杆菌在慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）患者中导致空洞性病变的病例，该病例是在对一名COPD患者进行肺癌筛查的低剂量CT扫描时偶然发现的。初步检查NTM呈阴性。鉴于高度怀疑NTM，进行了介入引导（IR）芯针活检，结果显示偶发分枝杆菌培养呈阳性。我们的病例强调了在高危患者的鉴别诊断中考虑NTM以及在临床高度怀疑时进行侵入性检查的重要性。
