Septic polyarthritis with Mycoplasma salivarium in a patient with common variable immunodeficiency: case report and review of the literature

Mycoplasma salivarium is a common mycoplasma usually isolated from human oropharynx, particularly from individuals with periodontal disease. It is also among the more common mycoplasmal contaminants of eukaryotic cell cultures. Although M. salivarium has been isolated occasionally from abscesses and other sterile sites, to our knowledge, only three cases of septic arthritis have been documented in the past due to this organism, all in patients with humoral immunodeficiency. We now report a fourth case of septic polyarthritis in a patient with profound hypoimmunoglobulinemia who had experienced dental abscesses within the preceding 2 years. Our case highlights the importance of considering invasive mycoplasmal infection in hypogammaglobulinemic patients. It is likely of significance that the patient had suffered recurrent dental abscesses as a source of infection with M. salivarium.