Mycobacterium fortuitum Infection of Corneal Graft

Nontuberculous (Atypical) Mycobacterial Keratitis After LASIK

“…7 The corneal findings described previously are unlike the NTM keratitis not associated with LASIK in which deep, densely opaque infiltrates with severe necrosis and tissue loss may be seen after penetrating injury or surgery such as PKP or radial keratotomy. [94][95][96][97][98][99][100] Clinically the differential diagnosis includes diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK), fungal keratitis, and ICK. Noninfectious DLK is a self-limiting syndrome in which the infiltrates are confined to the corneal interface and do not extend into the anterior (flap) or posterior (bed) corneal stroma, with little or no anterior chamber reaction and minimal or no conjunctival injection [101][102][103] (Table 3).…”

“…N. asteroides and nontuberculous mycobacteria (eg, M. fortuitum) are acid-fast organisms capable of producing a necrotizing keratitis. 95 In the past, NTM keratitis has been mistaken for possible Nocardia keratitis, 44,95,98,106 and neither can be identified by tissue sections stained by hematoxylin and eosin. 95 N. asteroides is weakly acid-fast, whereas nontuberculous mycobacteria are strongly acid-fast.…”

Epidemiology of Infection by Nontuberculous Mycobacteria

“…There have also been a number of reports describing corneal infections caused by rapidly growing mycobacteria (108,311,315,543,551,571). Those reports identified the causative organism as M. fortuitum.…”

Atypical Mycobacterial Keratitis: A Negligent and Emerging Thread for Blindness

“…In one report, 4 months was required for the diagnosis of a mycobacterial infection in South Flordia 55 . Clinical management of AMB keratitis is not efficient because of the delayed diagnosis and prolonged drug sensitivity tests due to their long incubation time to grow the bacteria in the lab.…”