{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T23:09:12Z","timestamp":1792624152639,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Ordem dos Medicos","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Acta Med Port"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Non-tuberculous mycobacteria are ubiquitous organisms. Precise determination of infection numbers is difficult, since\u00a0reporting them to public health departments is frequently not mandatory; furthermore, isolating a non-tuberculous mycobacteria does\u00a0not necessarily translate into disease. The aims of this study were to ascertain non-tuberculous mycobacteria data of a tertiary hospital,\u00a0determine the incidence and approach to colonization versus disease, and the incidence of predisposing comorbidities.Material and Methods: Retrospective study in a tertiary hospital, involving patients with positive cultural exam for non-tuberculous\u00a0mycobacteria in any biological sample, from 2010 to 2017.Results: A total of 125 non-tuberculous mycobacteria isolates was identified, corresponding to 96 patients. Of these, 57.4% were male\u00a0(n = 54); median age was 65 years (interquartile range = [50 - 82]). From these, 60.7% (n = 57) had some degree of immunosuppression,\u00a0most frequently due to malignant tumour (49.0%) or HIV infection (39.2%). It was found that 29 patients (31.0%) had structural\u00a0respiratory tract changes. Colonization was defined in 65.6% of patients (n = 63). While 71.0% of non-tuberculous mycobacteria infections\u00a0were pulmonary, the remaining 29.0% presented as disseminated. According to available clinical records, 60.6% (n = 20) of the\u00a0presumably infected patients fulfilled American Thoracic Society diagnostic criteria for non-tuberculous mycobacteria disease.Discussion: Several cases of non-tuberculous mycobacteria infection in this study presented as life-threatening, multi-systemic disease,\u00a0highlighting the importance of accurate diagnosis and timely treatment. Other cases of presumed infection might instead have\u00a0corresponded to colonization, possibly resulting in futile therapy.Conclusion: While there are diagnostic criteria for treatment of non-tuberculous mycobacteria infections, no such guidelines exist\u00a0to assess colonization. One of the most challenging aspects remains the correct differentiation between colonization and early-stage\u00a0infection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.20344\/amp.10932","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,29]],"date-time":"2019-03-29T17:42:26Z","timestamp":1553881346000},"page":"208-213","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria: Seven-Year Experience of a Tertiary Hospital"],"prefix":"10.20344","volume":"32","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4428-2164","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nuno Ferreira","family":"Monteiro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susana","family":"Peres","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kamal","family":"Mansinho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"8464","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,29]]},"container-title":["Acta M\u00e9dica Portuguesa"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.actamedicaportuguesa.com\/revista\/index.php\/amp\/article\/download\/10932\/5651","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.actamedicaportuguesa.com\/revista\/index.php\/amp\/article\/download\/10932\/5651","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,24]],"date-time":"2022-10-24T22:38:17Z","timestamp":1666651097000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.actamedicaportuguesa.com\/revista\/index.php\/amp\/article\/view\/10932"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,29]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,29]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.20344\/amp.10932","relation":{},"ISSN":["1646-0758","0870-399X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1646-0758","type":"electronic"},{"value":"0870-399X","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,29]]}}}