Trends in the Prevalence of Non-TB Mycobacterial Infection in Patients With Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis in South Korea, 2012-2016

Abstract

Background Epidemiological data regarding the prevalence of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection in patients with non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis are lacking. Methods The prevalence of non-CF bronchiectasis, and that of coexisting NTM infection in bronchiectasis patients, were investigated using data from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Results From 2012 to 2016, 25,447 cases of non-CF bronchiectasis were extracted from a total of 5,885,483 individuals ≥ 18 years of age. The frequency of coexisting NTM infection in patients with bronchiectasis gradually increased each year, even though the estimated prevalence of bronchiectasis did not change much during that period. This resulted in a gradual increase in the prevalence of coexistence of NTM infection and non-CF bronchiectasis (12.8 cases / 100,000 population in 2012, 16.9 in 2013, 18.4 in 2014, 24.5 in 2015, and 25.2 in 2016, respectively). Furthermore, the presence of NTM infection in bronchiectasis patients was associated with increased healthcare resource use. [Figure 1] Conclusions Results of the present study demonstrated that approximately 5% of patients with non-CF bronchiectasis had coexisting NTM infection, the prevalence of coexisting NTM infection exhibited an increasing trend every year, and the presence of NTM infection was associated with higher healthcare resource use in South Korea.