title: Non tuberculous mycobacteria isolated from clinical specimens at a tertiary care hospital in South India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This is a retrospective analysis of the isolation rates of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) from various clinical specimens and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns.
  
  
  METHODS
  All NTM isolated between 1999 and 2004 at Christian Medical College, Vellore, South India, were identified with various biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility test for all NTM was performed by standard methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 32,084 specimens were received for culture, of which 4473 (13.9%) grew acid fast bacilli (AFB). Four thousand three hundred (96.1%) of the AFB were M. tuberculosis while 173 (3.9%) were NTM. Of the 173 NTM, 115 (66.5%) were identified to the species level. Pus, biopsy specimens and sputum specimens yielded most of the NTM of which M. chelonae (46%) and M. fortuitum (41%) accounted for majority of them. M. chelonae and M. fortuitum, showed highest susceptibility to amikacin (99.2%). NTM were repeatedly isolated from seven sputum specimens, 15 biopsy and pus specimens, two CSF and two blood cultures. Six were isolated from patients with AIDS and five from post transplant patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The isolation of NTM from various clinical specimens is reported in this study to highlight the associated diseases and therapeutic options in these infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore - 632 004, India. maryvj@cmcvellore.ac.in
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Jesudason
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gladstone
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D009170:Nontuberculous Mycobacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents