Aung Thanda, Celestin Mia
Rheumatology, University of California Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA.
Cureus. 2025 Mar 17;17(3):e80740. doi: 10.7759/cureus.80740. eCollection 2025 Mar.
is an environmental, rapid-growing non-tuberculosis commonly found in soil and water. While typically causing pulmonary infections, it can present with musculoskeletal manifestations that mimic inflammatory arthritis. We present a case of a 73-year-old woman who developed progressive hand tenosynovitis following a gardening injury. The clinical presentation initially suggested seronegative spondyloarthritis, particularly due to the presence of dactylitis. However, synovial biopsy and culture ultimately revealed subsp. infection. This case highlights the importance of considering atypical infections in the differential diagnosis of apparent inflammatory arthritis, especially with unilateral involvement and inadequate response to conventional therapy.
是一种环境中常见的快速生长的非结核分枝杆菌，通常存在于土壤和水中。虽然它通常引起肺部感染，但也可出现类似炎性关节炎的肌肉骨骼表现。我们报告一例73岁女性，在园艺受伤后发生进行性手部腱鞘炎。临床表现最初提示血清阴性脊柱关节炎，特别是由于存在指（趾）炎。然而，滑膜活检和培养最终显示为亚种感染。该病例强调了在明显炎性关节炎的鉴别诊断中考虑非典型感染的重要性，尤其是单侧受累且对传统治疗反应不佳时。
