To the Editor:
Biologics directed against tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are highly effective in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)1. There are significant concerns, however, surrounding opportunistic infections including reactivation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis2. Infection with atypical mycobacteria has also been reported3. Mycobacterium heckeshornense is a recently described non-tuberculous mycobacterium species first identified in 20004. There are limited reports of its isolation as a pathogen in immunocompetent patients causing cavitary lung disease, recurrent lung infection, and tenosynovitis4–6. We describe the first reported case of lumbar spondylodiskitis with M. heckeshornense infection in a patient with RA treated with etanercept.
A 51-year-old Caucasian man presented with a …
Address correspondence to J. Leiter, Pan Am Clinic, 75 Poseidon Bay, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3M 3E4.