[A Mycobacterium abscessus infection complicated with lipoid pneumonia]

A 64-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of productive cough and fever. Chest radiography on admission revealed air space consolidation in the right middle and lower lung fields and ground-glass opacity in the left middle lung field. He had been constipated for several years and had taken mineral oil for about a year. Sputum smears demonstrated acid bacilli, and cultures disclosed Mycobacterium abscessus. The transbronchial lung biopsy specimen showed granulomatous inflammation and numerous lipoid-laden macrophages in the alveolar spaces. Mycobacteria were present within the mineral oil and lipid-laden macrophages. It is likely that the mineral oil increased the pathogenicity of the mycobacteria.