Atypical mycobacteriosis in a poorly compliant patient

Description

Non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis most frequently presents as chronic lung disease.1 Delayed diagnosis or even misdiagnosis occurs due to a great similarity in its clinical presentation to tuberculosis.2 Treatment often seems unprofitable since it is complex and prolonged, poorly tolerated and frequently ineffective in the elimination of the disease.3

The authors present a 68-year-old woman with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis 1 year before, for which she only completed 6 weeks of treatment as well as follow-up, having abandoned both as she believed they went against her culture and religion. She was admitted with productive cough, weakness and weight loss. Blood tests revealed anaemia, thrombocytosis, elevated inflammatory markers, severe hypoalbuminaemia and negative HIV serology. The chest X-ray (figure 1) showed two cavities in the right lung and a consolidation in the left lower lobe. The chest CT scan (figures 2 and 3

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