A case of lung infection due to Mycobacterium abscessus

: We report a case of lung infection due to Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus). A 60 year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of an abnormal shadow found on chest radiography and a bloody sputum. Chest radiography revealed infiltrative and linear shadows in the middle and lower fields of both lungs. The sputum smears were negative for acid-fast bacilli, but sputum culture was positive. Rapidly growing mycobacteria were detected. The patient was treated with clarithromycin. Since M. abscessus was identified from repeated cultures of the sputa, the patient was treated with Imipenem/Cilastatin and Amikacin for four weeks, during which the chest radiography improved. After discharge, the treatment with clarithromycin and minocycline was continued for ten months, and the chest radiography improved further. Our treatment for M. abscessus may be a useful choice for drug treatment of such cases.