Abstract
Exotic pet ownership is common in the United States, as is immunocompromise both from medical therapy and common chronic diseases. We present the case of a 68-year-old woman with chronic kidney disease and a nonhealing papule after a cockatoo bite to the hand. Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus was isolated from the lesion. The patient was treated with surgical excision and 1 year of oral clarithromycin, which relieved her symptoms. Human infections with M. chelonae/abscessus are relatively uncommon but have been increasingly reported in immunocompromised patients. This case reminds practitioners to keep a high index of suspicion in all patients with skin lesions that do not respond to typical therapy, even those patients traditionally considered immunocompetent.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 60-61 |
Number of pages | 2 |
Journal | Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2008 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology (medical)
- Infectious Diseases