Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases  2006;60(5):571-575

doi:10.4046/trd.2006.60.5.571

Mycobacterium avium Infection Presenting as Endobronchial Lesions in an Immunocompetent Patient.

Jae Hee LEE 1 ; Kyung Sik SON ; Ji Hyun PARK ; Jun Chol KIM ; Hyun Woo LEE ; Chang Ho KIM

Affiliations

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Keywords

Mycobacterium avium; Endobronchial lesion; Immunocompetent host

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

Mycobacterium avium has been traditionally described as an opportunistic organism that causes disseminated disease in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients and acts as a pulmonary pathogen in patients with underlying lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or previously treated tuberculosis. Infections caused by M. avium in immunocompetent hosts usually manifest as 2 distinct subtypes, the upper lobe cavitary form and the nodular bronchiectatic form. However endobronchial lesions due to M. avium infections in immunocompetent host are reasonably rare, and there are no reports of this condition in Korea. We report here a case of endobronchial lesions involved in an M. avium infection in an immunocompetent 21 year-old female patient with no preexisting lung disease.