title: Non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease is common in patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous environmental organisms. Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are susceptible to NTM, but data about NTM in patients with non-CF bronchiectasis are limited.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study at the University of Illinois Medical Center. All patients diagnosed with bronchiectasis (code 494) using the International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision (ICD-9), between 1999 and 2006, were identified. Clinical data including lung function, radiology studies, and presence of NTM in sputum were abstracted for those who met the study criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred eighty-two patients were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into two groups: bronchiectasis with NTM isolates (n = 68) and bronchiectasis without isolates (n =114), and compared for clinical characteristics and underlying diseases. Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) was the most common isolate. Fifty-five patients (30%) met the American Thoracic Society criteria for diagnosis of NTM disease. Gram-negative rods were commonly co-isolated. The probability of NTM isolation was significantly higher in elderly female patients (p = 0.04). Moreover, the probability of NTM isolation was significantly higher in the female group with low body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.002).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NTM infections are common in non-CF bronchiectasis. MAC is the most frequently isolated NTM in these patients. There is also great variability in age and sex characteristics for NTM in non-CF bronchiectasis patients. Female patients with a low BMI are a high risk group for NTM infection in non-CF bronchiectasis. Routine screening for NTM is strongly recommended in this patient population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown VA Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, 840 South Wood Street, M/C 719, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mirsaeidi
authors.forename: Walid
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hadid
authors.forename: Basel
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ericsoussi
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rodgers
authors.forename: Ruxana T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Sadikot
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001987:Bronchiectasis / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis
keywords: BMI; Bronchiectasis; NTM; Non-CF; Non-tuberculous mycobacterial diseases