[Clinical features of pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex disease diagnosed through gastric aspirate culture].

Objectives: The diagnostic significance of gastric aspirate culture has been established in pulmonary tuberculosis, but not in pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease. This study aimed to verify the diagnostic significance of gastric aspirate culture in pulmonary MAC disease.

Subjects And Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 77 cases of pulmonary MAC disease tentatively diagnosed through gastric aspirate culture in comparison with 308 cases diagnosed through sputum culture.

Results: There was no significant difference in the clinical symptoms, laboratory data, or type of disease in both groups. Patients diagnosed through gastric aspirate culture had a significantly lower chance of having underlying respiratory disease (26.0% vs. 46.8%), which indicates the difficulty in obtaining sputum specimens from this group of patients. In 114 patients without chemotherapy intervention, more patients achieved spontaneous remission in the gastric aspirate group than in the sputum group. Among 271 patients treated with chemotherapy, there were no significant differences in the course of radiological findings and clinical symptoms between both groups. During the observation period, a definitive diagnosis through sputum culture or histological confirmation was reached in 34 of 47 patients (72%). There was no significant difference in the clinical characteristics, course of radiological findings, and clinical symptoms in the definitive group and tentative group.

Conclusion: Gastric aspirate is a minimally invasive, easy to conduct, and useful test for diagnosing pulmonary MAC disease.