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Mycobacterium fortuitum-induced persistent parotitis: successful therapy with clarithromycin and ciprofloxacin
Chien-Cheng Chen1, Shiou-Yi Chen, Yun-Sung Chen
1Department of Otolaryngology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Background:
Parotitis caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria, a very rare disease entity, has never been reported to be caused by Mycobacterium fortuitum (M. fortuitum) in the literature.
Methods And Results:
An 8-year-old girl was seen with painful swelling of the right parotid gland despite antibiotic treatment of more than 1 month. Elevated serum amylase activity and diffuse contrast-enhanced CT of the parotid gland confirmed the diagnosis of parotitis. Histopathological study of specimens taken from the right parotid tail mass showed granulomatous inflammation with acid-fast positive bacilli; culture later confirmed M. fortuitum. After administration of clarithromycin and ciprofloxacin for 9 consecutive months, the parotitis and parotid tail mass were completely resolved at follow-up examination.
Conclusion:
To our knowledge, this is the first case report of parotitis caused by M. fortuitum and its successful medical treatment.
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