{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T11:57:18Z","timestamp":1792065438799,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767225600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are important pathogens in patients with chronic lung diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis\u2013associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD). Although acute exacerbations of ILD associated with NTM infection have been reported sporadically, cases involving pulmonary Mycobacterium abscessus infection remain extremely limited. We describe a fatal case of acute respiratory deterioration in a patient with RA-ILD following pulmonary infection with M. abscessus. A 76-year-old man with longstanding RA-ILD developed pulmonary NTM disease initially caused by Mycobacterium avium complex and subsequently complicated by M. abscessus infection. Intensive multidrug induction therapy led to transient clinical and radiographic improvement. However, 2 weeks after discharge, he was readmitted with rapidly progressive hypoxemic respiratory failure and newly developed bilateral diffuse ground-glass opacities on chest computed tomography. A comprehensive evaluation did not identify alternative infectious aetiologies, and the overall findings were considered consistent with clinically suspected acute exacerbation of RA-ILD associated with pulmonary M. abscessus infection, although progressive pulmonary M. abscessus disease could not be completely excluded. Despite corticosteroid pulse therapy and broad antimicrobial coverage, the patient died 6 days after readmission. Subsequent analysis confirmed M. abscessus subsp. abscessus with resistance to macrolides and imipenem\/cilastatin. This case highlights the diagnostic challenges in distinguishing acute exacerbation of RA-ILD from progressive pulmonary M. abscessus disease, raises the possibility that M. abscessus infection may be associated with acute respiratory deterioration in patients with underlying RA-ILD, and underscores the importance of early recognition and optimal management of NTM infections in this high-risk population.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/mrcr\/rxag091","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T11:40:02Z","timestamp":1790682002000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Acute respiratory deterioration in rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease associated with pulmonary\n                    <i>Mycobacterium abscessus<\/i>\n                    infection: A case report"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-8343-3432","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tomoko","family":"Oshima","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, National Hospital Organization, Tenryu Hospital, Hamamatsu , Shizuoka ,","place":["Japan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yutaro","family":"Nakamura","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, National Hospital Organization, Tenryu Hospital, Hamamatsu , Shizuoka ,","place":["Japan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eriko","family":"Iwaizumi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, National Hospital Organization, Tenryu Hospital, Hamamatsu , Shizuoka ,","place":["Japan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kentaro","family":"Yamamoto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mycobacteriology, Leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan Institute for Health Security , Tokyo ,","place":["Japan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Manabu","family":"Ato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mycobacteriology, Leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan Institute for Health Security , Tokyo ,","place":["Japan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tatsuru","family":"Eifuku","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, National Hospital Organization, Tenryu Hospital, Hamamatsu , Shizuoka ,","place":["Japan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yasuhiro","family":"Ito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, National Hospital Organization, Tenryu Hospital, Hamamatsu , Shizuoka ,","place":["Japan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hisano","family":"Ohba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, National Hospital Organization, Tenryu Hospital, Hamamatsu , Shizuoka ,","place":["Japan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kaoru","family":"Fujita","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, National Hospital Organization, Tenryu Hospital, Hamamatsu , Shizuoka 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