title: Non-tuberculous mycobacterial diseases presenting as solitary pulmonary nodules.
abstract: METHODS
  South Korea, 2005-2007.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Non-tuberculous mycobacterial diseases presenting as solitary pulmonary nodules (NTM-SPN) are rare and may be misdiagnosed as tuberculoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven NTM-SPN patients were enrolled retrospectively and compared with two groups each of 33 patients with upper lobe cavitary (UC) and nodular bronchiectatic (NB) type NTM diseases, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients' median age was 52 years. Compared with UC-type disease, NTM-SPN patients showed female (n = 9) and never smoker (n = 8) predominance and fewer comorbidities (n = 0; P < 0.05 for each). Mycobacterium avium (n = 9) was predominant in NTM-SPN patients, followed by M. intracellulare (n = 2), whereas M. intracellulare was most frequently isolated from patients with both UC- and NB-type NTM (P < 0.05). The nodules were a median of 2.3 cm in diameter (range 1.6-6.3 cm) and were distributed evenly in all lobes. In all patients, percutaneous needle aspiration/biopsy was performed with a median 71 days of diagnostic delay. Ten patients successfully completed treatment, and one showed spontaneous reduction of nodule size without treatment. Reverse blot hybridisation assays of six DNA samples identified four subjects with M.avium-intracellulare complex (MAC), in line with conventional test data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NTM-SPN was caused exclusively by MAC. Although clinical outcome was favourable, confirmatory diagnosis was delayed. Molecular methods are needed for early diagnosis of NTM-SPN.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, Gangneung Asan Hospital, Gangneung, Korea.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lyu
authors.forename: C-M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Y-M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Shim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D015270:Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D012042:Registries; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents