title: Successful treatment of Mycobacterium celatum pulmonary disease in an immunocompetent patient using antimicobacterial chemotherapy and combined pulmonary resection.
abstract: Mycobacterium celatum is a nontuberculous mycobacterium that rarely causes pulmonary disease in immunocompetent subjects. We describe the successful treatment of M. celatum lung disease with antimicobacterial chemotherapy and combined pulmonary resection. A 33-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a 3-month history of a productive cough. Her medical history included pulmonary tuberculosis 14 years earlier. Her chest X-ray revealed a large cavitary lesion in the left upper lobe. The sputum smear was positive for acid-fast bacilli, and M. celatum was subsequently identified in more than three sputum cultures, using molecular methods. After 1 year of therapy with clarithromycin, ethambutol, and ciprofloxacin, the patient underwent a pulmonary resection for a persistent cavitary lesion. The patient was considered cured after receiving 12 months of postoperative antimycobacterial chemotherapy. There has been no recurrence of disease for 18 months after treatment completion. In summary, M. celatum is an infrequent cause of potentially treatable pulmonary disease in immunocompetent subjects. Patients with M. celatum pulmonary disease who can tolerate resectional surgery might be considered for surgery, especially in cases of persistent cavitary lesions despite antimycobacterial chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hee-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.forename: Nam Yong
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jhingook
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Won-Jung
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Koh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000601:surgery*; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000378:metabolism*; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents