<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>In immunocompetent individuals Mycobacterium marinum (M. marinum) infection usually presents with localized skin lesions, better known as “swimming pool granuloma” or “fish tank granuloma” (FTG). When establishing the diagnosis of FTG, doctors encounter several problems in the clinical practice: granulomas are detected in less than two thirds of biopsies and acid-fast bacilli are identified only in a minority of cases. Majority of disseminated and aggressive FTG forms are unrecognized at the beginning, and occur in immunosuppressed patients, including organ transplant patients. Functional impairment or even amputation of the extremity, visceral involvement and lethal outcome have been reported. Although more than one thousand cases of FTG have been reported worldwide, dermatoscopy of FTG, as a diagnostic aid, has not been reported yet. Presenting the case of FTG of recent onset where, guided by dermatoscopy, microorganisms were isolated and identified from the biopsy material, we summarize the essentials of clinical and laboratory diagnostics of M. marinum infection.</p></abstract>

In immunocompetent individuals Mycobacterium marinum (M. marinum) infection usually presents with localized skin lesions, better known as “swimming pool granuloma” or “fish tank granuloma” (FTG). When establishing the diagnosis of FTG, doctors encounter several problems in the clinical practice: granulomas are detected in less than two thirds of biopsies and acid-fast bacilli are identified only in a minority of cases. Majority of disseminated and aggressive FTG forms are unrecognized at the beginning, and occur in immunosuppressed patients, including organ transplant patients. Functional impairment or even amputation of the extremity, visceral involvement and lethal outcome have been reported. Although more than one thousand cases of FTG have been reported worldwide, dermatoscopy of FTG, as a diagnostic aid, has not been reported yet. Presenting the case of FTG of recent onset where, guided by dermatoscopy, microorganisms were isolated and identified from the biopsy material, we summarize the essentials of clinical and laboratory diagnostics of M. marinum infection.

Clinical, Dermatoscopical and Laboratory Essentials of Fish Tank Granuloma

National Reference Laboratory for Mycobacteria

Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine

Kosovac Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Serbian Journal of Dermatology and Venereology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Clinical, Dermatoscopical and Laboratory Essentials of Fish Tank Granuloma"}

In immunocompetent individuals Mycobacterium marinum (M. marinum) infection usually presents with localized skin lesions, better known as “swimming pool...

Clinical, Dermatoscopical and Laboratory Essentials of Fish Tank Granuloma

Published Online: Nov 12, 2019

Page range: 31 - 35

Received: May 26, 2019

Accepted: Sep 06, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjdv-2019-0005

Keywords
Granuloma, Diagnosis, Mycobacterium marinum, Skin Diseases, Bacterial, Dermoscopy, Immuno-compromised Host

© 2019 Danijela Dobrosavljević et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Clinical, Dermatoscopical and Laboratory Essentials of Fish Tank Granuloma

Published Online: Nov 12, 2019

Page range: 31 - 35

Received: May 26, 2019

Accepted: Sep 06, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjdv-2019-0005

KeywordsGranuloma, Diagnosis, Mycobacterium marinum, Skin Diseases, Bacterial, Dermoscopy, Immuno-compromised Host

© 2019 Danijela Dobrosavljević et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Granuloma, Diagnosis, Mycobacterium marinum, Skin Diseases, Bacterial, Dermoscopy, Immuno-compromised Host