When should NTM be treated?

When should NTM be treated?

When should I consider treatment immediately? After confirming an NTM lung disease diagnosis, the 2020 NTM Guidelines recommend treatment initiation rather than “watchful waiting” in certain diagnosed patients, especially in those with positive AFB sputum smears and cavitary disease.

Does NTM need to be treated?

If not treated, many NTM infections may cause damage to lung tissue. An NTM infection is not contagious. It cannot be passed from human to human. Treatment for NTM infections generally requires long-term use of antibiotics, often for 1 to 2 years.

What is life expectancy with NTM?

The median survival time was 13.0 years (95 % CI 5.9–20.1) for pulmonary MAC but 4.6 years (95 % CI 3.4–5.9) for pulmonary other NTM.

How do you treat NTM?

Doctors treat mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease, the most common NTM lung infection, with a combination of three antibiotics:

1. Either azithromycin (Zithromax) and clarithromycin (Biaxin)
2. Ethambutol (Myambutol)
3. Rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane)

How do you test for NTM infection?

A chest X-ray or CT scan to look for nodules, cavities or other changes to your lung tissue and airways that would indicate NTM disease. A lab culture to confirm that the infection is caused by NTM. This is usually done by collecting a sputum sample of fluid coughed up from your lungs.

Is NTM serious?

What Is NTM lung disease? Nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease is a serious infection caused by bacteria that are common in the environment and can cause lung damage. They are aerosolized, which means that the bacteria can exist in water and soil particles that are in the air.

What doctor treats NTM?

Because NTM can be challenging to get rid of, you should consider finding a pulmonologist or infectious disease specialist with experience treating people with NTM lung disease.

What is the second most common nontuberculous Mycobacterium to cause lung disease?

The two most widely known are Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes tuberculosis, and Mycobacterium leprae, which causes leprosy. The other Mycobacterium species are classified as “nontuberculous” to clearly set them apart. Unlike the others, NTM lung disease is not known to be contagious.

What is the second most common nontuberculous mycobacteria to cause lung disease?

Figure 2 shows the distribution of mycobacterial species among patients with definite pulmonary NTM disease in Asia, according to ATS criteria. MAC was the most frequently reported (68% of all cases) cause of NTM disease; RGM were second (14% of all cases).

What causes NTM?

The great majority of NTM lung disease in the U.S. is caused by Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). Everyone comes into contact with NTM, but it usually only causes infection in people with underlying lung disease, such as bronchiectasis or COPD, a weakened immune system or older age. NTM disease is not contagious.