Abstract
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) cause pulmonary and extrapulmonary infections in susceptible persons. To characterize the epidemiology of skin and soft tissue (SST) and disseminated extrapulmonary infections caused by NTM in the United States, we used a large electronic health record database to examine clinical, demographic, and laboratory data for hospitalized patients with NTM isolated from extrapulmonary sources during 2009–2014. Using all unique inpatients as the denominator, we estimated prevalence and summarized cases by key characteristics. Of 9,196,147 inpatients, 831 had confirmed extrapulmonary NTM. The 6-year prevalence was 11 cases/100,000 inpatients; source-specific prevalence was 4.4 SST infections/100,000 inpatients and 3.7 disseminated infections/100,000 inpatients. NTM species varied across geographic region; rapidly growing NTM were most prevalent in southern states. Infection with Mycobacterium avium complex was more common among patients with concurrent HIV and fungal infection, a relevant finding because treatment is more effective for M. avium complex than for other NTM infections.
Highlights
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) cause pulmonary and extrapulmonary infections in susceptible persons
Most isolates identified to the species level were Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) (50%), followed by M. fortuitum (10%), M. abscessus (9.4%), M. chelonae (5.3%), and M. chelonae/abscessus (4.3%)
Using the Cerner Health Facts electronic health record (EHR) database, we found that the annual prevalence of extrapulmonary NTM overall was stable over time and that skin and soft tissue (SST) NTM infections increased significantly, which could result from the increased number of patients taking immunosuppressive drugs (20% of patients in this cohort) or increased cosmetic procedures [10,11]
Summary
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) cause pulmonary and extrapulmonary infections in susceptible persons. To characterize the epidemiology of skin and soft tissue (SST) and disseminated extrapulmonary infections caused by NTM in the United States, we used a large electronic health record database to examine clinical, demographic, and laboratory data for hospitalized patients with NTM isolated from extrapulmonary sources during 2009–2014. Rapidly growing NTM species were identified at a much greater frequency in extrapulmonary than in pulmonary NTM patients and represented one third of all cases in Oregon [4]. To characterize the epidemiology of skin and soft tissue (SST) and disseminated NTM infections and evaluate regional differences in incidence and mycobacterial species distribution, we examined laboratory-confirmed cases from a large electronic health record (EHR)–based repository of inpatient encounters from a national sample of US hospitals
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
