Mycobacterium avium pleuritis in a non-immunocompromised patient.

Nontuberculous mycobacterium infection is rarely accompanied by pleural involvement. We describe a very rare occurrence of Mycobacterium (M) avium pleuritis with pleural effusion in a non-compromised 73-year-old woman patient who had been treated for sick sinus syndrome. She was admitted to our hospital with general malaise and left pleural effusion. To establish a definitive diagnosis, a biopsy specimen was obtained from the left parietal pleura by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. The pleural biopsy specimen revealed only diffuse lymphoid cell infiltration and neoplastic or granulomatous lesions were absent. Culture of the pleural biopsy specimen revealed M. avium, indicating that the pleuritis was caused by this organism. A course of anti-tubercular agents (rifampin, ethambutol and streptomycin sulfate) and clarithromycin gradually resolved the pleural effusion.