Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
BACKGROUNDTreatment outcomes and long-term survival of non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) in a real-world setting are difficult to assess, especially for species other than Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC).METHODSThis was a retrospective cohort study on all Croatian residents with respiratory NTM isolates from 2006 to 2015, with follow-up to 2020.RESULTSTherapy was started in 98/137 (71.5%) of patients, significantly more often in patients with fibrocavitary disease and/or sputum smear positivity. Unsuccessful treatment outcomes were recorded in 39/98 (39.8%) patients (14 deaths and 25 treatment failures). One-year and 5-year all-cause mortality were respectively 18.2% and 37.6%. Guideline-based treatment (GBT) was started in 50/98 (51%) of treated patients and followed for the recommended duration in 35.7% (35/98). This resulted in a higher chance of cure (OR 3.79, 95% CI 1.29 to 11.1; P = 0.012) than inadequately treated/untreated patients. For Mycobacterium xenopi disease, high cure rates (>80%) were achieved both with GBT and non-GBT treatment regimens.CONCLUSIONGuideline-based therapy resulted in a four-time higher chance of being cured. The impact of GBT on treatment outcomes was clear for MAC disease, but no apparent effect was observed for patients with M. xenopi disease.
Makek et al. (Sat,) studied this question.