Epidemiological and laboratorial profile of patients with isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria.

Background: An increase in NTM diseases in the international scenario has been observed in recent years.

Aims: To analyze the epidemiological and laboratory profiles of patients with isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) over one decade. A retrospective analysis of records of a mycobacterial reference laboratory found 135 cases with isolation of NTM.

Methods: Clinical and epidemiological data were collected from the records of government health clinics and from the State notification system (TBWEB). The cases were geocoded by location based on the street address in the Mercator Transverse Universal projection, Datum SAD/69 and MapInfo software.

Results: Most patients were male (66.7%), older than 50 years (40%) and had only completed elementary schooling (38.5%). Associated health problems were found in 71.8% of the subjects, with 43.7% being HIV positive and 25.9% having had tuberculosis in the past. Hospitals were the most able institutions to diagnose cases (45.2%). Sputum was the most common material tested (63.0%) with the bacilloscopy being positive in 33.3% of cases. The most common mycobacteria species in the region were Mycobacterium avium and M. abscessus/M. massiliense/M. bolletii. When the regional reference municipality was analyzed, M. avium and M. fortuitum were the most common species isolated in the urban area.

Conclusions: In the study region, mycobacteriosis most affected adult males with low schooling. Most patients presented comorbidities in particular co-infection with the HIV virus. M. avium is the most prevalent species in the region with the M. abscessus/M. massiliense/M. bolletii species being the main cause of nosocomial infections.