Introduction: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection, particularly NTM-lung disease, has been increasing worldwide but its data in tuberculosis (TB)-endemic countries is still scarce.
Aims: To investigate the presence of NTM in Vietnamese patients with bronchiectasis (BE).
Methods: A prospective study was conducted from 09/2022 to 09/2023 at both University Medical Center HCMC and Cho Ray?s hospital. All adult BE patients undertaken bronchoscopy were evaluated and we collected bronchial lavage fluid (BLF) to do multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction for TB and NTM.
Results: 99 BE patients were analyzed (excluding 13 cases: two cases refused and 11 cases with active pulmonary TB), mean age 63.0 ± 11.9. The NTM-positive rate of BLF was 52.5% and the slowly growing NTM accounted for 90.4% (M. xenopi and M. avium complex were most common). Characteristics of the study population and comparison between two groups were presented in table 1. The etiologies of BE included post-TB (24.2%), immunodeficiency (5.1%), NTM (29.3%), other (8.1%), and idiopathic (33.3%). Excluding NTM-associated bronchiectasis, NTM was more common in patients with post-TB than those with other causes (50.0% vs. 26.1%, p = 0.045).
Conclusions: NTM is not uncommon in Vietnamese BE patients, especially mild-moderate BE or post-TB BE.
Table 1
| Features | Total (n = 99) |
NTM-positive group |
NTM-negative group |
p-value |
| Female | 55.6% | 51.9% | 59.6% | 0.444 |
| BMI | 21.5 (18.7 - 22.7) | 21.0 (18.4 ? 22.5) | 21.8 (19.2 ? 23.4) | 0.360 |
| Productive cough | 72.7% | 84.6% | 59.6% | 0.029 |
| BE affecting middle /lingular lobe |
51.5% | 44.2% | 59.6% | 0.127 |
| BSI | 4.0 (2.0 -6.0) | 3.0 (2.0 ? 5.0) | 4.0 (3.0 ? 8.0) | 0.028 |