Clinical characteristics, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, and treatment outcomes of nontuberculous mycobacterial diseases in eastern China: a retrospective cohort study (2019-2022).

Clinical characteristics, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, and treatment outcomes of nontuberculous mycobacterial diseases in eastern China: a retrospective cohort study (2019-2022).

Publication date: Dec 09, 2025

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are opportunistic pathogens, and the global incidence of NTM diseases has been steadily increasing, posing significant public health challenges. This study retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 136 cases of NTM disease diagnosed at the Zhejiang Provincial Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment Center between 2019 and 2022. It was observed that NTM diseases in this region predominantly affected middle-aged and elderly men, with chronic cough being the principal symptom (74. 3%). Bronchiectasis (57. 4%) and cavities (38. 2%) were the main imaging characteristics. The results of species identification demonstrated that Mycobacterium intracellulare (62. 5%) was the dominant strain. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that Mycobacterium avium complex exhibited relatively favorable sensitivity to clarithromycin, amikacin, ethambutol, rifapentine, rifampicin, and moxifloxacin, while the Mycobacterium chelonae/Mycobacterium abscessus complex showed sensitivity only to amikacin (66. 7%). In total, 66. 2% of patients received anti-NTM therapy. Patients completing ≥6 months of treatment achieved significantly higher efficacy than those with

Concepts Keywords
China antimicrobial susceptibility test
Global nontuberculous mycobacteria
Mycobacterium NTM clinical characteristics
Therapy NTM species identification

Semantics

Type Source Name
disease MESH Tuberculosis
pathway KEGG Tuberculosis
disease MESH chronic cough
disease MESH Bronchiectasis
disease MESH strain
drug DRUGBANK Clarithromycin
drug DRUGBANK Amikacin
drug DRUGBANK Ethambutol
drug DRUGBANK Rifapentine
drug DRUGBANK Rifampicin
drug DRUGBANK Moxifloxacin

Original Article

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