Amputation of a finger in a patient with multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium marinum skin infection

摘要

Mycobacterium marinum is the etiologic agent of fish tank granuloma. The clinical course is usually benign: spontaneous healing is possible within weeks or months. However, fish tank granuloma is sometimes resistant to several antibiotics. We report a case of M . marinum infection of a finger in a 73-year-old cook. The disease was resistant to a number of antibiotics and required the amputation. The history of this patient testifies that M . marinum can be resistant to several antibiotics and that skin infections can be sometimes so severe as to require the amputation of a finger.