Antibiotic treatment for nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease

Pulmonary infections are the most frequent diseases caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Common causative organisms of pulmonary infection are slowly growing mycobacteria including Mycobacterium avium complex and Mycobacterium kansasii, and rapidly growing mycobacteria including Mycobacterium abscessus complex. Clinical concern has been raised over the increasing incidence of NTM lung disease combined with the poor treatment outcomes of these chronic infectious diseases. Since treatment guidelines of the American Thoracic Society/Infectious Disease Society of America were published in 2007 there have been continuous efforts to improve the outcomes of NTM lung disease, albeit slowly and with limitations. Here, we focus on recent advances in the antibiotic treatment of NTM lung disease.