Pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections [Review article. 2010: The Year of the Lung. Series editor: John F. Murray]

• Published in: The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease Vol. 14; no. 6; pp. 665 - 671
• Main Authors: DALEY, C. L, GRIFFITH, D. E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris, France IUATLD 01.06.2010; International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
• Subjects: Bacterial diseases; Biological and medical sciences; Diagnosis, Differential; Global Health; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Incidence; Infectious diseases; Lung Diseases - diagnosis; Lung Diseases - epidemiology; Lung Diseases - microbiology; Medical sciences; Mycobacterium; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous - diagnosis; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous - epidemiology; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous - microbiology; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria - isolation & purification; Pneumology; Prevalence; Respiratory system : syndromes and miscellaneous diseases; Tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infections; Infection; Tuberculosis; Respiratory disease; Lung; Bacteriosis; Mycobacterial infection; Pneumology
• ISSN: 1027-3719; 1815-7920

NON-TUBERCULOUS mycobacteria (NTM) represent a broad array of organisms that have been isolated from soil and water, and exposure to these reservoirs is thought to be the source of human infection. The past decade has seen not only a remarkable expansion of new NTM species, primarily because of the availability of new, more sensitive molecular methods for NTM identification and speciation, but also an increase in the frequency of isolation of NTM. There are currently more than 140 NTM species, at least 40 of which are associated with lung infection (Table I). super(1) With the increased frequency of isolation of NTM and the profusion of new species, clinicians are increasingly being faced with the clinical scenario of deciding what to do when an NTM species grows from a patient's respiratory specimen. This article will try to address three important questions that we are asked almost daily by our colleagues (and often our patients): 1) Are NTM infections increasing, and if so, why? 2) How do I know if my patient really has NTM pulmonary disease? 3) Do I need to treat my patient, and if so, how? By addressing each of these questions we hope to arm clinicians with information that will help them better understand and combat these difficult to treat infections.