Atypical fast-growing Mycobacterium species are usually identified after laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, cosmetic surgeries, and catheter-related, pulmonary or soft tissue infections. We herein present the case of a 56-year-old man with purulent discharge, redness, and foreign body sensation in his left eye. He underwent two surgeries that partially controlled the infection but were not curative. Corneal transplantation was performed, and a biopsy of the excised cornea indicated Mycobacterium aurum infection, which was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. This appears to be the first documented case of keratitis attributable to the non-tuberculous mycobateria M. aurum. The intractable extra-ocular progression of the disease in the absence of general signs or symptoms was notable. We suggest considering non-tuberculous mycobacteria among the probable causes of complicated keratitis or keratitis that does not respond to drug treatment, especially in regions where tuberculosis is endemic.
Journal Information
Vol. 16. Issue 2.
Pages 204-208 (March - April 2012)
Vol. 16. Issue 2.
Pages 204-208 (March - April 2012)
Open Access
Mycobacterium aurum keratitis: An unusual etiology of a sight-threatening infection
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Behnam Honarvara, Hossein Movahedanb, Mojtaba Mahmoodia,
, Fatemeh Maryam Sheikholeslamic, Parisa Farniad
Corresponding author
mahmoodimoj@gmail.com
Corresponding author at: Health Policy Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Building No 2, Eighth Floor, School of Medicine, Zand Avenue, 7134853185 Shiraz, Iran.
Corresponding author at: Health Policy Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Building No 2, Eighth Floor, School of Medicine, Zand Avenue, 7134853185 Shiraz, Iran.
a Health Policy Research Center, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
b Poostchi Endowment Ophthalmology Research Center, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
c Mycobacteriology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
d National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Article information
Abstract
Keywords:
Mycobacteria, atypical
Keratitis
Corneal transplantation
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