Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) rarely cause vertebral osteomyelitis; however, the clinical characteristics of vertebral osteomyelitis caused by NTM are poorly understood due to its rarity. A 74-year-old man with lung cancer was treated with prednisolone for immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated immune-related adverse events. He had been experiencing mild back pain without febrile episodes for five months, and was admitted to the hospital for worsening back pain and progressive paraplegia. Magnetic resonance imaging showed spinal cord compression at T4-5 due to fractures of the T5 and T7 vertebral bodies. The culture of a sample of pus from the T7 vertebral body obtained at the time of spinal fusion surgery yielded the Mycobacteroides abscessus (M. abscessus) complex. The patient was diagnosed with vertebral osteomyelitis caused by M. abscessus complex and treated with clarithromycin, amikacin, and imipenem; clarithromycin was later replaced by sitafloxacin because of inducible macrolide resistance. However, his neurologic deficits were irreversible, and he died due to a deteriorating general condition. The strain was identified up to subspecies level as M. abscessus subsp. abscessus by hsp65 and rpoB sequencing and nucleic acid chromatography. Although vertebral osteomyelitis due to NTM is rare, delayed diagnosis can lead to serious complications or poor outcomes. A prolonged clinical course, less frequent fever, vertebral destruction or spinal deformity, neurological deficits, or immunosuppressed conditions might be suggestive of NTM vertebral osteomyelitis.
Keywords: M. abscessus subsp. abscessus; Nontuberculous mycobacteria; Nucleic acid chromatography; Spinal cord injury; Vertebral osteomyelitis.
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