We report a case of vertebral osteomyelitis due to Mycobacterium intracellulare in a 60-year-old man without predisposing conditions. He was successfully treated with surgical excision of the inflamed tissue and combined antimycobacterial therapy consisting of clarithromycin, ethambutol, and rifampin. In this case, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PCR-RFLP) based on the rpo B gene of cultured isolates allowed rapid identification of M. intracellulare. Although very rare, nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) should be suspected as a causative pathogen of vertebral osteomyelitis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of vertebral osteomyelitis caused by NTM reported in the Korean literature.
Clarithromycin ; Ethambutol ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Mycobacterium avium Complex* ; Mycobacterium* ; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria ; Osteomyelitis* ; Rifampin

We report a case of vertebral osteomyelitis due to Mycobacterium intracellulare in a 60-year-old man without predisposing conditions. He was successfully treated with surgical excision of the inflamed tissue and combined antimycobacterial therapy consisting of clarithromycin, ethambutol, and rifampin. In this case, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PCR-RFLP) based on the rpo B gene of cultured isolates allowed rapid identification of M. intracellulare. Although very rare, nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) should be suspected as a causative pathogen of vertebral osteomyelitis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of vertebral osteomyelitis caused by NTM reported in the Korean literature.
Clarithromycin ; Ethambutol ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Mycobacterium avium Complex* ; Mycobacterium* ; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria ; Osteomyelitis* ; Rifampin