ETV5 and infection: The clinical scenarios presented in the preceding vignettes posed unique and formidable challenges for several reasons: (i) the M. abscessus strain carried the erm(41) gene mutation, (ii) both patients experienced significant drug toxicity, making intravenous therapy intolerable, (iii) in Case 1, the presence of metallic ear foreign body likely led to persistence of the infection due to biofilm formation.