ALA-PDT combined with antibiotics for the treatment of multiple skin abscesses caused by Mycobacterium fortuitum

Background: Atypical mycobacterial skin infection is rare in clinical practice. Because atypical mycobacteria are highly hydrophobic, the permeability of the outer membrane of the bacterial wall is very low, which makes it difficult for drugs to cross the barrier. Additionally, atypical mycobacteria are resistant to many drugs, and thus, infection tends to last for a long time and become recurrent and difficult to treat. Thus, it is very important to find new, more effective treatment methods. Mycobacterium fortuitum is a type of fast-growing atypical mycobacterium that is resistant to all of the primary anti-TB drugs and thus is very difficult to treat. Recently, in vivo and in vitro experiments have shown that singlet oxygen generated by photodynamic therapy can kill various microorganisms, including atypical mycobacteria. Herein, we report one case of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) combined with antibiotics for the treatment of multiple skin abscesses in the hands caused by M. fortuitum. The results showed that ALA-PDT combined with antibiotics was very effective for treating multiple skin abscesses caused by M. fortuitum and significantly shortened the treatment time. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.