Abstract:

Objective To analyze the clinical features, treatment and prognosis of patients with non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) disease, and to improve the cognition of NTM disease. Methods A retrospective study was conducted in 17 patients with NTM disease diagnosed in Shantou Central Hospital, Guangdong Province from 2016 to 2020. The clinical data, including demographic characteristics, disease history, clinical symptoms and signs, lesions, bacteria species distribution, imaging examination results, treatment plan and prognosis, etc., were collected and analyzed. Results Among the 17 patients with NTM disease, 11 aged ≥60 years 11 were diagnosed as NTM lung disease, 7 were identified as Mycobacterium intracellular, and 15 complicated with underlying diseases. Chest CT examination of 11 patients with NTM lung disease showed that the lesions involved both lungs, of which 9 cases had multiple patchy shadows. Of the 17 patients, 15 were treated with anti-NTM combination therapy in our hospital. In terms of outcome, of the 17 patients, 2 were lost to follow-up, 2 were still under treatment, 3 died, as to the other 10 cases, the clinical symptoms were relieved and therefore the treatment had been stopped. Conclusion NTM mainly occured in the elderly, and always combined with underlying diseases. NTM lung disease was more common. There were various types of bacteria, and it was necessary to identify the bacteria and conduct drug sensitivity test to guide drug selection. The treatment should be combined with medication and sufficient course of treatment.

Key words: Mycobacteria,atypical, Disease attributes, Case reports, Retrospective studies