Extract
Mycobacterium abscessus is increasingly being recognised as a significant human pathogen, especially in patients with cystic fibrosis, and the specific M. abscessus subspecies seems to influence the clinical outcome [1]. The pulmonary manifestation of this nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection is one of the most difficult to treat forms, leading to substantial morbidity and mortality in this population [1, 2]. M. abscessus strains are highly resistant to most antibacterial drugs [2]. The recent development of liposomal amikacin for inhalation for patients with cystic fibrosis suggested a therapeutic breakthrough. However, even though sputum conversion was improved in a phase 2 study, the primary end-point (change from baseline to day 84 on a semi-quantitative mycobacterial growth scale) was not reached [3]. We analysed the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of another promising new anti-tuberculous drug, bedaquiline, using 20 clinical isolates of M. abscessus. No systematic studies on the distribution of MIC for M. abscessus have been performed previously.
Abstract
Bedaquiline may be a potential agent to treat severe or relapsing Mycobacterium abscessus infection http://ow.ly/3lUp309VZVj
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: None declared.
- Received January 13, 2017.
- Accepted February 13, 2017.
- Copyright ©ERS 2017