Discussions
Discussions
If a patient has been treated with antibiotics, can the sputum culture show positive again for NTM?
This question was recently asked at a BNTM Coffee Social.
Christina: Katie is correct on that. I believe if the statistic is if you have had NTM before, you are almost 50% more likely to develop the infection again.* This doesn’t mean that you might get the same strain again. It could mean that you are also more susceptible to other types of NTM as well.
John: This is because your bronchiectasis creates a perfect environment for NTM to breed. There is ongoing research linking certain genetic mutations to one’s inability to process NTM. Those who have this mutation can look forward to reinfection.
*Reference: Wallace RJ Jr, Brown-Elliott BA, McNulty S, et al. Macrolide/Azalide therapy for nodular/bronchiectatic mycobacterium avium complex lung disease. Chest. 2014;146(2):276-282. doi:10.1378/chest.13-2538
Replies
Yes you can get NTM more than once! Also note that just because you tolerated 3 anitbiotics the first time won't mean that you won't have a reaction to them the 2nd time.My second time on Rimpafin took my blood platelets down to 2 in five days. I won't go into what that involved except to say that my pulmonary doctor said it was the first time he had ever seen it happen and that now I was complicated so now I am on Amikayce and it really is a super pain in the backside to use.
Hissyspit,
Hello! Yes, our body chemistry change over time resulting in not being able to handle a drug that we were able to handle in the past.
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