Mycobacterium Avium-Intracellulare Differential Diagnoses

  • Author: Janak Koirala, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA; Chief Editor: Burke A Cunha, MD   more...
 
Updated: Mar 9, 2012
 
 

Diagnostic Considerations

Cutaneous infection, a rare manifestation of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection, should be considered in patients with antibiotic-resistant cellulitis, in those with nonhealing nodules and ulcers, and in patients who are immunosuppressed with evidence of disseminated MAC infection. Primary cutaneous infection is rare, but it does not necessarily mandate a workup for immunosuppression. Of note, isoniazid is a first-line agent in the treatment of M tuberculosis, but it is ineffective for DMAC infection.

Perrin reported a patient with AIDS and a cutaneous MAC infection that mimicked histoid leprosy.[15]

Other problems to be considered in the differential diagnosis of MAC infection include the following:

  • Mumps
  • Parotid tumor
  • HIV wasting
  • Lung cancer
  • Lymphoma
  • Mycobacterium scrofulaceum infection
  • Nontuberculous mycobacterial infections

Differential Diagnoses

Proceed to Workup
 
 
Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Janak Koirala, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA  Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

Janak Koirala, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, American Society for Microbiology, Infectious Diseases Society of America, International AIDS Society, International Society for Infectious Diseases, and International Society of Travel Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Klaus-Dieter Lessnau, MD, FCCP  Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine; Medical Director, Pulmonary Physiology Laboratory; Director of Research in Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary Medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital

Klaus-Dieter Lessnau, MD, FCCP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, American Thoracic Society, and Society of Critical Care Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

Aaron Glatt, MD  Professor of Clinical Medicine, New York Medical College; President and CEO, Former Chief Medical Officer, Departments of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, St Joseph Hospital (formerly New Island Hospital)

Aaron Glatt, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physician Executives, American College of Physicians, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, American Medical Association, American Society for Microbiology, American Thoracic Society, American Venereal Disease Association, Infectious Diseases Society of America, International AIDS Society, and Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Burke A Cunha, MD  Professor of Medicine, State University of New York School of Medicine at Stony Brook; Chief, Infectious Disease Division, Winthrop-University Hospital

Burke A Cunha, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physicians, and Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

The authors and editors of Medscape Reference gratefully acknowledge the contributions of previous author William B Harley, MD,to the development and writing of the source article.

References

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CT thorax of a 77-year-old woman who presented with chronic cough and sputum production, without a history of underlying pre-existing lung disease. Sputum culture grew Mycobacterium avium complex. The diagnosis was Lady Windermere syndrome.
 
 
 
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