Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
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J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. · Mar 2010
Case ReportsAn outbreak of Mycobacterium chelonae infections in tattoos.
Nontuberculous 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. ⋯ 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.