Peritonitis with Mycobacterium fortuitum in a patient on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

A 35-year-old man on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) developed peritonitis due to Mycobacterium fortuitum and coagulase-negative staphylococci, following an unsuccessful renal transplantation. Infection subsided after removal of the dialysis catheter and treatment with amikacin. Clinicians and microbiologists should be aware of M. fortuitum as a potential cause of peritonitis in patients with debilitating underlying diseases. It is able to grow on ordinary culture media, but detection requires prolonged incubation, and it may be confused with poorly characterized diphtheroids.