Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex: evaluation with CT

Pulmonary Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare (MAI) complex has been reported with increasing frequency, but computed tomographic (CT) evaluation of pulmonary MAI complex has been seldom reported. The authors retrospectively reviewed chest CT examinations performed in 62 patients with positive MAI cultures within 1 month of CT. Of the 62 patients, 40 had bronchiectasis and 60 had infiltrates, usually of the nodular variety (39 patients). All 35 patients with small nodular infiltrates had bronchiectasis. These 35 patients did not have concurrent malignancy or clinical evidence of immunocompromise, and 29 (83%) of them were women (mean age, 66 years). Of the 27 patients without small nodular infiltrates and bronchiectasis, 25 had underlying malignancy or immunocompromise. The predominance of older women without underlying malignancy or immunocompromise but with findings of small nodular infiltrates and bronchiectasis at chest CT may indicate such patients to be a subtype of patients with pulmonary MAI complex.