title: Recovery rate of NTM from AFB smear-positive sputum specimens at a medical centre in South Korea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the recovery rate of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) from acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear-positive sputum specimens at a tertiary care medical centre in South Korea with a high pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) burden.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of data from AFB smear- and culture-positive sputum specimens collected between January 1998 and December 2001.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 4 years, 1328 sputum specimens collected from 616 patients were AFB smear- and culture-positive. NTM were recovered from 9.1% (121/1328) of the smear-positive sputum specimens, and from 8.1% (50/616) of patients with smear-positive sputum. NTM were isolated at least twice in 94% (47/50) of the patients from whom NTM was recovered. The most common organism found was Mycobacterium avium complex, followed by M. abscessus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that a substantial proportion of patients at a tertiary care medical centre in South Korea with AFB smear-positive sputum specimens may have NTM lung disease rather than PTB.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Centre, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: O J
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: G Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: N Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Y K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Bai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis*