Study on the Prevalence of Lung Disease of Non-Tuberculosis Mycobacterium Isolated from Respiratory Specimens in Gwangju Second Hospital over the Last 10 Years

Recently, the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in respiratory specimens has decreased, and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) has increased. This study examined the increase in NTM lung disease patients and their age and sex distribution compared to the increase in NTM detection in 132,359 respiratory specimens examined in a Gwangju Secondary Hospital from 2010 to 2019. Furthermore, the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis infection in NTM positive patients was investigated. The positive rates of the mycobacterial culture were 21.9% (1,624/7,403) in 2010 and 17.4% (1,937/11,161) in 2019. The NTM recovery rate increased from 38.0% (617/1,624) in 2010 to 72.4% (1,403/1,937) in 2019. The average diagnosis rate of NTM lung disease in the NTM positive patients was 27.1%. Among them, cases of current pulmonary tuberculosis infection decreased from 44.9% in 2010 to 23.4% in 2019, and cases of previous diagnosis or treatment decreased from 15.8% to 10.7%. Of all NTM lung diseases, 69.0% were in their 60s or older, with more females than males. In the future, according to aging and tuberculosis management policies, NTM detection is expected to increase while MTBC decreases and laboratories must pay close attention to this phenomenon and constantly monitor the test results.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

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