Liver Abscess Due to Mycobacterium abscessus in an Immunocompetent Host: A Case Report

We report the first case of a liver abscess caused by Mycobacterium abscessus . A male patient in his 40s with history of heroin use presented with 1 year of right upper quadrant abdominal pain and was found to have a large liver abscess of the right hepatic lobe for which he had percutaneous drain placement with culture positive for M. abscessus . He received several months of antibiotics and eventually required partial hepatectomy . Mycobacterium abscessus complex is a group of rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacteria that tend to be resistant to multiple antibiotics and are very difficult to treat requiring prolonged treatment, and often a combination of medical and surgical treatment is needed to achieve cure. This infection was likely acquired hematogenously in the setting of intravenous heroin use.