Bacterial Infection within a Rheumatoid Nodule: A Rarely Reported Finding

Abstract

We describe a palisaded granulomatous skin nodule containing bacterial rods, in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The case emphasizes that fact that a known history of RA should not preclude submission of tissue for culture studies or careful histologic review for micro-organisms of any lesion that is interpreted as clinically and/or histologically consistent with a rheumatoid nodule. Cutaneous infection may be an etiological agent in the formation of rheumatoid nodules in a patient with known RA.