Body piercing is a growing trend, especially in young people, but the literature on complications of piercing consists mostly of case reports involving ear piercing. Previous reported complications of piercing include contact dermatitis, keloids, traumatic tearing, viral transmission, and bacterial infections. We report two patients who presented with atypical mycobacterial infections of body piercing sites. It is important to recognize the association of piercing and mycobacterial infections so that tissue can be obtained for histopathologic examination and appropriate culture.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.