M.R. Holt, S.H. Kasperbauer, C.L. Daley
European Respiratory Journal 2020; DOI: 10.1183/13993003.02196-2019
Extract
The recommended procedure for diagnosis of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) is collection of three sputum samples on separate days [1]. Sputum induction is suggested for patients unable to expectorate spontaneously. These recommendations align with evidence-based guidelines for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) [2] but literature supporting their applicability to NTM-PD is lacking. In addition, the clinical utility of colony counts on solid media requires clarification. Early changes in semiquantitative colony counts are predictive of clinical and radiological improvement and treatment success [3] but the relationships of colony count with disease markers, such as smear status, have not been reported.
Footnotes
This manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the European Respiratory Journal. It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJ online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article.
Conflict of interest: Dr Holt has been an investigator in Insmed studies, outside the submitted work.
Conflict of interest: Dr Kasperbauer reports personal fees from Insmed, outside the submitted work.
Conflict of interest: Dr Daley has nothing to disclose.
- Received November 13, 2019.
- Accepted February 15, 2020.
- Copyright ©ERS 2020
