Skin Abscess due toSerratia marcescensin an Immunocompetent Patient after Receiving a Tattoo

Abstract

The incidence of skin infections caused bySerratia marcescensis extremely low and such infections are typically observed in immunocompromised patients. The clinical manifestations of these infections include cellulitis, abscesses, fluctuant nodules, or granulomatous lesions. Infections caused byS. marcescensare very difficult to treat due to their resistance to many antibiotics, which often leads to specific and prolonged treatment. Infections after receiving a tattoo are very rare and are caused by unhygienic conditions or the inexperience of the tattooist. In this paper we present the case of a 32-year-old male with no comorbidity, who presented an abscess caused byS. marcescensin a area that was tattooed one month earlier. The case was resolved with surgery and antimicrobial therapy that was based on the antibiogram. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of aS. marcescensskin infection following a tattoo, in the absence of immunosuppression.