Severe pneumonia and bloodstream dissemination caused by Mycobacterium houstonense in a patient with achalasia: clinical importance of genospecies typing
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Infections caused by members of the Mycobacterium fortuitum complex are generally mild and confined to skin and soft tissues, while severe disease in immunocompetent individuals is uncommon. Within the Mycobacterium fortuitum complex, the unnamed third biovariant complex comprises several closely related species that cannot be reliably distinguished using routine molecular diagnostic methods. Importantly, species within this complex show marked interspecies variability in antimicrobial susceptibility, including predictable intrinsic resistance patterns, with direct consequences for empiric treatment selection in severe infections. Because antimicrobial susceptibility testing for rapidly growing mycobacteria typically requires at least one week, rapid and accurate species-level identification is essential to guide effective early therapy. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of life-threatening pneumonia with bloodstream dissemination caused by a third-biovariant M. fortuitum complex species in an otherwise immunocompetent 44-year-old woman with previously undiagnosed achalasia. Routine diagnostics identified the isolate as belonging to the M. fortuitum complex but were insufficient for species-level identification. Whole-genome sequencing was performed and identified the pathogen as Mycobacterium houstonense, a species historically considered rare in human disease. The patient developed severe respiratory failure and sepsis, requiring prolonged intensive care…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a case report, done in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Severe clinical outcomes of COVID-19 associated with proton pump inhibitors: a nationwide cohort study with propensity score matching
- Levofloxacin-Induced Tendon Rupture: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
- Association between cord blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and respiratory tract infections in the first 6 months of age in a Korean population: a birth cohort study (COCOA)
- Neuroprotective Effects of Epicatechin against Oxidative Stress-Induced Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Quality evaluation and in vitro interaction studies between levofloxacin 250mg and diclofenac sodium 50mg tablets
- Molecular Epidemiology of mcr-1 -Positive Polymyxin B-Resistant Escherichia coli Producing Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL) in a Tertiary Hospital in Shandong, China
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.