Cutaneous infection due to Mycobacterium kansasii.

A patient presented with chronic leg ulcers after a mowing accident. He received several courses of antibiotics for presumed cellulitis, underwent surgical debridement, and was treated empirically with cyclosporin for presumed pyoderma gangrenosum, all without improvement. Cultures from prior debridement revealed Mycobacterium kansasii, and he was successfully treated with triple antituberculous regimen. Cutaneous infections due to this slow growing Mycobacterium are rare and may resemble cellulitis or sporotrichosis. Mycobacterium kansasii should be included in the differential diagnosis of skin infections with an indolent course and lack of response to antibiotics.