Prevalence and importance of non-tuberculous mycobacteria in adult patients with cystic fibrosis in a hospital in Madrid

Introduction The role of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) among cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, on occasion, remains unknown. The aim of our study is to evaluate the prevalence and clinical/microbiological characteristics of CF adult patients colonized by NTM, highlighting Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus). Methods A retrospective study was conducted with 92 CF adult patients: including a control group of 64 patients, not colonized by NTM, and a study group of 28 patients, colonized by NTM. We have analyzed variables such as age, F508del mutation, lung function, pancreatic involvement, auramine staining and co-colonizations between both groups. Results The prevalence of NTM found was 30.4%. The most prevalent was Mycobacterium avium complex followed by M. abscessus. For M. abscessus, in the comparative study with patients colonized by other NTM, significant results were obtained for variables age. Discussion We have found a high prevalence of NTM among adult patients with CF, and we associated the presence of M. asbcessus with ages less than 30 years and F508del. Due to the pathogenic role of NTM, especially M. asbcessus, multicenter studies are required within the population suffering from CF.