Ra. Lefkowitz et Rd. Singson, CONSIDERING MYCOBACTERIUM-HAEMOPHILUM IN THE DIFFERENTIAL-DIAGNOSIS FOR LYTIC BONE-LESIONS IN AIDS PATIENTS WHO PRESENT WITH ULCERATING SKIN-LESIONS, Skeletal radiology, 27(6), 1998, pp. 334-336
Mycobacterium haemophilum has recently been recognized as a newly emer
ging cause of osteomyelitis in immunocompromised patients. While still
uncommon, its incidence has increased significantly with the growing
AIDS epidemic. Like its relatives M. tuberculosis and M. intracellular
e, this organism is acid-fast positive; yet unlike its more well-known
counterparts, M. haemophilum requires iron-supplemented culture media
and low incubation temperatures (30-32 degrees C) for growth. We desc
ribe a case of M. haemophilum osteomyelities in the distal femur of a
36-year old HIV-positive male, who also presented with multiple skin u
lcerations. In an AIDS patients with a lyric bone lesion and concomita
nt skin eruptions, the diagnosis of M. haemophilum should be entertain
ed so that special culture media can be used and appropriate treatment
administered.