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Bug or no bug: challenges in diagnosing cutaneous mycobacterial infections
Author(s) -
Peters Franziska,
Batinica Marina,
Plum Georg,
Eming Sabine A.,
Fabri Mario
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
jddg: journal der deutschen dermatologischen gesellschaft
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.463
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1610-0387
pISSN - 1610-0379
DOI - 10.1111/ddg.13001
Subject(s) - medicine , medical diagnosis , mycobacterium infections , differential diagnosis , dermatology , intensive care medicine , pathology , mycobacterium , tuberculosis
Summary Cutaneous mycobacterioses are rare in Germany. Nevertheless, early diagnosis and subsequent effective treatment requires awareness of these conditions. Moreover, mycobacterial infections are on the differential diagnosis list of many skin diseases. Diagnoses of cutaneous mycobacterioses are based on clinical features, but also on laboratory investigations, including bacterial culture, histopathology and PCR‐based methods. Knowledge about the opportunities and limitations of theses laboratory tests is pivotal to reasonable clinical decision‐making. In this paper, we review the current diagnostic options when suspecting a case of cutaneous mycobacterial infection.