Abstract
Joint pains and swellings are routine complaints in rheumatology clinics. Infectious diseases may mimic common rheumatic conditions and thus need to be ruled out before initiating any immunosuppressive treatment. Mycobacterium marinum is an organism that can present with a typical arthritis picture. A 60-year-old gentleman with a complicated medical history presented with a right wrist swelling which was initially managed as a case of remitting seronegative arthritis. He eventually required tenolysis and the biopsy showed M. marinum. On inquiry, he was found to be an avid fisherman. This report discusses typical diagnostic pitfalls, literature review on the reported cases and treatment strategies. The most important point is to ask for occupational and hobby history in such cases.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Bhatty MA, Turner DP, Chamberlain ST (2000) Mycobacterium marinum hand infection: case reports and review of literature. Br J Plast Surg 53:161–165
Petrini B (2006) Mycobacterium marinum: ubiquitous agent of waterborne granulomatous skin infections. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 25:609–613
Aubry A, Chosidow O, Caumes E, Robert J, Cambau E (2002) Sixty three cases of Mycobacterium marinum infection: clinical features, treatment, and antibiotic susceptibility of causative isolates. Arch Intern Med 162:1746–1752
Hurst LC, Amadio PC, Badalamente MA, Ellstein JL, Dattwyler RJ (1987) Mycobacterium marinum infections of the hand. J Hand Surg 12A:428–435
Ho PL, Ho P, Fung BK, Ip WY, Wong SS (2001) A case of disseminated Mycobacterium marinum infection following systemic steroid therapy. Scand J Infect Dis 33:232–233
Edelstein H (1994) Mycobacterium marinum skin infections. Report of 31 cases and review of the literature. Arch Intern Med 154:1359–1364
Harth M, Ralph ED, Faraawi R (1994) Septic arthritis due to Mycobacterium marinum. J Rheumatol 21:957–960
Lahey T (2003) Invasive Mycobacterium marinum infections. Emerg Infect Dis 9:1496–1498
Hess CL, Wolock BS, Murphy MS (2005) Mycobacterium marinum infections of the upper extremity. Plast Reconstr Surg 115:55e–59e
Alloway JA, Evangelisti SM, Sartin JS (1995) Mycobacterium marinum arthritis. Semin Arthritis Rheum 24:382–390
Chopra N, Kirschenbaum AE, Widman D (2002) Mycobacterium marinum tenosynovitis in a patient on etanercept therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. J Clin Rheumatol 8:265–268
Lam A, Toma W, Schlesinger N (2006) Mycobacterium marinum arthritis mimicking rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol 33:817–819
Ramos MS, Ribeiro de Castro MC (2003) Mycobacterial infections. In: Bolognia JL, Jorizzo JL, Rapini R et al (eds) Dermatology. Mosby, St Louis, p 1159
Wu TS, Chiu CH, Su LH, Chia JH, Lee MH, Chiang PC et al (2002) Mycobacterium marinum infection in Taiwan. J Microbiol Immunol Infect 35:42–46
Lee EY, Rubin DA, Brown DM (2004) Recurrent Mycobacterium marinum tenosynovitis of the wrist mimicking extraarticular synovial chondromatosis on MR images. Skeletal Radiol 33:405–408
Disclosures
None
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aslam, F., Ng, B. “You never asked doc., I do fish”. Clin Rheumatol 29, 691–693 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-009-1270-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-009-1270-4