title: Distribution of nontuberculous mycobacteria in treated patients with pulmonary disease in Greece - relation to microbiological data.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim was to assess the distribution of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in treated patients with pulmonary disease (PD) in Greece.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients treated for NTM PD at the two largest chest diseases hospitals in Greece, in the period 1990-2013 were investigated. For the years 2005-2013 data on NTM isolation frequency were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  M. avium complex (MAC) was the predominant cause of NTM PD disease followed by M. kansasii and rapid growing mycobacteria (RGM). The pathogenicity of RGM was significantly lower than this of MAC and M. kansasii. An increase was observed in the percentage of isolated NTM species that were considered clinically significant over the study period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increasing number of NTM PD in Greece is a consequence of their isolation being more frequently considered as clinically relevant.
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Manika
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis Department, 'Sotiria' Chest Diseases Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Stamatoula
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsikrika
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis Department, 'Sotiria' Chest Diseases Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tsaroucha
authors.affiliation: National Mycobacteria Reference Laboratory, 'Sotiria' Chest Diseases Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karabela
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis Department, 'Sotiria' Chest Diseases Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Karachaliou
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis Department, 'Sotiria' Chest Diseases Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioulia
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bosmi
authors.affiliation: Respiratory Infections Unit, Pulmonary Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 'G Papanikolaou' Hospital, Exohi, Thessaloniki, 57010, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kioumis
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis Department, 'Sotiria' Chest Diseases Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Apostolos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papavasileiou
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015269:Mycobacterium avium Complex / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015270:Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D009170:Nontuberculous Mycobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: M. avium complex; M. kansasii; epidemiology; nontuberculous mycobacteria; rapid growing mycobacteria; virulence