[Mycobacterium persicum pulmonary disease misdiagnosed as tuberculosis: a case report].

Authors

S F Yu, R Fu, T Xu

Published in

Zhonghua jie he he hu xi za zhi = Zhonghua jiehe he huxi zazhi = Chinese journal of tuberculosis and respiratory diseases. Volume 49. Issue 10. Pages 1115-1117. Oct 12, 2026.

Abstract

Mycobacterium persicum (M. persicum) is a nontuberculous mycobacterium that predominantly affects the lungs, causing pulmonary lesions, and is readily misdiagnosed as tuberculosis. Here we report a 48-year-old man with AIDS and M. persicum pulmonary disease who was initially misdiagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and received standard anti-TB therapy, yet showed no radiological or clinical improvement. Sputum specimens were subsequently subjected to targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS), which identified M. persicum and established the definitive diagnosis. After switching to an anti-M. persicum regimen, the pulmonary lesions gradually resolved, and the patient was cured. This case highlights that in immunocompromised individuals, M. persicum pulmonary disease closely mimics tuberculosis in both imaging and clinical presentation, and reliance solely on CT and sputum acid-fast staining readily leads to misdiagnosis. Molecular diagnostics are central to precise diagnosis and treatment, and this case offers a valuable clinical reference.

PMID:
42811569
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 30 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.