title: Mycobacterium avium pleuritis in a non-immunocompromised patient.
abstract: Nontuberculous mycobacterium infection is rarely accompanied by pleural involvement. We describe a very rare occurrence of Mycobacterium (M) avium pleuritis with pleural effusion in a non-compromised 73-year-old woman patient who had been treated for sick sinus syndrome. She was admitted to our hospital with general malaise and left pleural effusion. To establish a definitive diagnosis, a biopsy specimen was obtained from the left parietal pleura by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. The pleural biopsy specimen revealed only diffuse lymphoid cell infiltration and neoplastic or granulomatous lesions were absent. Culture of the pleural biopsy specimen revealed M. avium, indicating that the pleuritis was caused by this organism. A course of anti-tubercular agents (rifampin, ethambutol and streptomycin sulfate) and clarithromycin gradually resolved the pleural effusion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Emergency and Critical Care Medical Center, Kitakyushu Municipal Yahata Hospital, Fukuoka.
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kakugawa
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mukae
authors.forename: Satoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kajiki
authors.forename: Akitaka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Takatomo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamayoshi
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohtani
authors.forename: Noriho
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Izumikawa
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tasaki
authors.forename: Nobuharu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ooe
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kohno
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence; D015270:Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D010998:Pleurisy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed