Time to diagnosis of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease and longitudinal changes on CT before diagnosis.

Background: The healthcare burden of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) is increasing, but the diagnosis remains challenging and sometimes requires considerable time. This nested case-control study aims to clarify the time to diagnosis of NTM-PD, the factors that affect diagnosis and diagnostic delay, and changes in CT findings before diagnosis.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 187 patients suspected of having NTM-PD based on computed tomography (CT) findings at our institution between January 2019 and September 2020.