| Abstract: | The case of a 37-year-old woman who developed a subacute, bilateral, noncavitary pneumonia 5 years after a colon interposition esophagoplasty is presented. Mycobacterium chelonei, subspecies abscessus, was assigned a pathogenic role based on the findings of (1) a clinical and roentgenographic picture consistent with tuberculosis, (2) sputum smears showing acid-fast bacilli, (3) repeated sputum cultures yielding heavy growths of Mycobacterium chelonei, subspecies abscessus, and (4) a 12-mm by 12 mm-skin test response to homologous antigen (purified protein derivative-CL) with no response to an equivalent dose of purified protein derivative-S. The patient recovered fully without significant antituberculous chemotherapy. A survey of the literature revealed 11 similar case reports featuring a documented association between megaesophagus and pulmonary infection with rapidly growing mycobacteria. |
