Acute pancreatitis associated with streptococcal toxic shock syndrome.

completely resolved. Medical treatment was continued for a total of 18 months. Three years later the patient is in good health. It has been retrospectively shown that this infection was due to hospital water contamination of the needle used during percutaneous nucleotomy. Seven cases of osteoarticular infections due to M. xenopi have been reported in the literature [1-7], including two cases ofvertebral osteomyelitis (one in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus [5] and one in an immunocompetent patient [6]). M. xenopi has been isolated frequently from samples from hot water generators and hospital storage tanks and, as in our case, has caused some cases of nosocomial infection [8]. In our case, spinal tuberculosis was diagnosed on the basis of the patient's clinical presentation and radiological histologic findings. However, histologic findings are not specific for M. tuber-