• Lisa A Drage, Phillip M Ecker, Robert Orenstein, P Kim Phillips, and Randall S Edson.
• Division of Clinical Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. drage.lisa@mayo.edu
• J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 2010 Mar 1; 62 (3): 501-6.

AbstractNontuberculous mycobacteria infections may occur after cutaneous procedures. Review of the medical records of patients who developed a rash within a tattoo revealed 6 patients with skin infections caused by Mycobacterium chelonae after receiving tattoos by one artist at a single tattoo establishment. The interval between tattoo placement and the skin findings was 1 to 2 weeks. All patients received alternate diagnoses before mycobacterial infection was identified. Skin findings included pink, red, or purple papules; papules with scale; pustules; granulomatous papules; and lichenoid papules and plaques. Histopathologic examination revealed granuloma, lymphohistiocytic infiltrate, or mixed inflammation; acid-fast bacilli stains produced negative results. Diagnosis was made by culture in 3 patients, histopathology in two patients, and clinical/epidemiologic association in one patient. The M chelonae isolates were clarithromycin susceptible, and the infections responded to macrolide antibiotics. Physicians should consider mycobacterial infections in patients with skin findings within a new tattoo.Copyright 2010 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

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