Septic cutaneous lesions caused by Mycobacterium malmoense in a patient with hairy cell leukemia

Patients with hairy cell leukemia seem to be prone to infections with mycobacteria. This report describes a patient with hairy cell leukemia and pulmonary infection as well as disseminated cutaneous infection caused by Mycobacterium malmoense cultured from sputum and skin scrapings on Loewenstein-Jensen medium in eight weeks. Despite multiresistance of the causative strain, the infection was successfully treated with ethambutol, cycloserine and isoniazid.