Mycobacterium marinum is an uncommon cause of skin and soft-tissue infection. The diagnosis of M. marinum infection is often delayed when only a conventional tissue culture method is used. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis using the novel region of the rpoB gene is now available for the rapid identification of Mycobacteria. We report a case of hand infection caused by M. marinum that was identified by PCR-RFLP analysis. The PCR-RFLP assay is a specific and rapid method for the identification of Mycobacteria that facilitates the early diagnosis of non-tuberculous Mycobacterium infection.
Early Diagnosis ; Hand ; Mycobacterium ; Mycobacterium Infections ; Mycobacterium marinum ; Skin ; Tenosynovitis

Mycobacterium marinum is an uncommon cause of skin and soft-tissue infection. The diagnosis of M. marinum infection is often delayed when only a conventional tissue culture method is used. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis using the novel region of the rpoB gene is now available for the rapid identification of Mycobacteria. We report a case of hand infection caused by M. marinum that was identified by PCR-RFLP analysis. The PCR-RFLP assay is a specific and rapid method for the identification of Mycobacteria that facilitates the early diagnosis of non-tuberculous Mycobacterium infection.
Early Diagnosis ; Hand ; Mycobacterium ; Mycobacterium Infections ; Mycobacterium marinum ; Skin ; Tenosynovitis

Objective: This study aimed to establish normal reference values for PV indices (PV/Ao ratio and PV diameter) in cats and determine the usefulness of these for predicting symptomatic EHPSS. Methods: This study included 95 dogs and 114 cats that underwent abdominal CT. The canine normal (CN) group included dogs without EHPSS. The cats were classified into feline normal (FN, 88/114), feline asymptomatic (FA, 16/114), and feline symptomatic (FS, 10/114) groups.The PV and Ao diameters were measured in axial cross-sections. Results: The group FN had a higher PV/Ao ratio than the group CN (p < 0.001). Within the feline groups, the PV indices were in the order FN > FA > FS (both p < 0.001). The mean PV diameter and PV/Ao ratio for group FN were 5.23 ± 0.77 mm and 1.46 ± 0.19, respectively. The cutoff values between groups FN and FS were 4.115 mm for PV diameter (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 97.7%) and 1.170 for PV/Ao ratio (90%, 92.1%). The cutoff values between group FA and FS were 3.835 mm (90%, 93.8%) and 1.010 (70%, 100%), respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: The results demonstrated significant differences in PV indices between dogs and cats. In cats, the PV/Ao ratio demonstrated high diagnostic performance for symptomatic EHPSS. The PV diameter also performed well, in contrast to dogs.