Tuberculoid lymphadenitis due to Mycobacterium chelonei.

An 8-year-old boy developed cervical lymphadenitis four months after an injection of dental anaesthetic. Histology of the lymphatic tissue showed a tuberculoid granulomatous reaction with scanty acid-fast bacilli. Mycobacterium chelonei was isolated in pure culture (NCTC 10882). The patient showed specific skin hypersensitivity to an extract of M. chelonei , but not to that of M. ranae. This is thought to be the first recorded case of lymphadenitis in man caused by M. chelonei ; it adds another possibility to be considered in the differential diagnosis of `a lump in the neck9.