Detectability of non-tuberculous mycobacteria in general medical wards

Kanina I.V., Guseva T.М., Golovina N.А., Okunev N.D.

I.P. Pavlov Ryazan State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Ryazan, Russia

The widespread distribution of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in the environment and their circulation among susceptible populations determines the place of mycobacteriosis in the structure of infectious pathologies of the pulmonary and extrapulmonary systems.

The aim of the study was to analyze the frequency of isolation of NTM cultures from patients of general medical institutions.

Materials and methods. The study focuses on the detection of NTM in patients of tuberculosis institutions in Ryazan in the period from 2021 to 2023. Throughout the study, various diagnostic methods were employed, including microscopic and bacteriological studies, fluorescence microscopy. A total of 353 clinical isolates of NTM were obtained, a larger number of strains were isolated from sputum of patients with various lower respiratory tract pathology.

Results. Studies show a consistently high percentage of NTM isolation, with a predominance of M. fortuitum and M. avium species – 29% and 15%, respectively. A steady upward trend in the incidence of NTM over three years is observed in the course of bacteriological and luminescent diagnostic methods (p=0.43). In 2021, 117 clinical isolates of NTM were isolated from 67 patients, which amounted to 33.1±1.76% of the total number of isolated cultures. In 2022 and 2023, the percentage of detected mycobacteria was 31.7±1.69 and 35.1±1.87, respectively.

Conclusion. A consistently high percentage of NTM detection is noted, which confirms their epidemiological significance. The study emphasizes the need for further research of antibiotic resistance of the isolated NTM strains, which will allow the development of effective strategies to combat this pathology.