Retrospective evaluation of natural course in mild cases of Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216034
• Publication Date: 2019-04-25T17:45:42Z
• Authors: Yoshifumi Kimizuka; Yoshihiko Hoshino; Tomoyasu Nishimura; Takahiro Asami; Yumi Sakakibara; Kozo Morimoto; Shinji Maeda; Noboru Nakata; Takayuki Abe; Shunsuke Uno; Ho Namkoong; Hiroshi Fujiwara; Yohei Funatsu; Kazuma Yagi; Toshihide Fujie; Makoto Ishii; Naohiko Inase; Satoshi Iwata; Atsuyuki Kurashima; Tomoko Betsuyaku; Naoki Hasegawa
• Keywords: Lung Diseases; Male; 0301 basic medicine; Science; Q; R; Middle Aged; Mycobacterium avium Complex; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Disease Progression; Medicine; Humans; Female; Research Article; Aged; Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection; Retrospective Studies

There is no proven management for mild cases of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) pulmonary disease, who do not immediately receive treatment and are managed with observation alone, because its long term-natural course, factors predictive of deterioration, and the effect of treating the disease remain unclear. Thus, we sought to investigate the natural course of mild cases of MAC pulmonary disease.We conducted a multicenter retrospective study. Sixty-five patients with mild MAC pulmonary disease in whom treatment was withheld for at least 6 months after diagnosis were retrospectively recruited after a review of 747 medical records. Longitudinal changes in clinical features were evaluated by using a mixed effects model.Mean follow-up was 6.9 ± 5.7 years. During the follow-up period, 15 patients (23%) required treatment and 50 (77%) were managed with observation alone. At diagnosis, 65 patients had nodular bronchiectatic disease without fibrocavitary lesions. Among clinical features, mean body mass index (BMI), forced expiratory volume in 1 second as percent of forced vital capacity (%FEV1), nodular lung lesions, and bronchiectasis worsened significantly in the observation group during follow-up. In the treatment group, BMI, and %FEV1 were stable, but bronchiectasis significantly worsened. At diagnosis, the polyclonal MAC infection rate in the treatment group was higher than that in the observation group. Other microbiological factors, such as insertion sequences, did not differ significantly between the groups.Mild MAC pulmonary disease progresses slowly but substantially without treatment. Treatment prevents the deterioration of the disease but not the progression of bronchiectasis. Polyclonal MAC infection is a predictor of disease progression.