Pulmonary Mycobacterium kansasii Disease in Previously Healthy Women

Abstract

We encountered two cases of pulmonary M. kansasii disease in two women without underlying diseases in our hospital. Case 1 was a 52-year-old woman who visited with an abnormal chest shadow. She showed nodular and linear shadows with bronchiectatic changes and small cavities in the left upper lobe and lingula, and was diagnosed with pulmonary M. kansasii disease because M. kansasii was isolated from her bronchoscopic specimens. Case 2 was a 33-year-old woman who visited with a productive cough. She showed several cavity lesions in the right lung, and was diagnosed with pulmonary M. kansasii disease from several isolated sputum samples. Combination therapy using INH, RFP, and EB was effective treatment for the two cases. Because pulmonary M. kansasii disease in previously healthy women shows various radiological patterns, it was considered important to perform acid-fast bacilli examination using clinical specimens in order to decide on the appropriate treatment methods.