Clinical analysis of 97 HIV/AIDS patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease

YIN Chun-lian; XIE Zhou-hua; PEI Jie; ZHANG Jie; OU Jian

Abstract：Objective To investigate clinical features of HIV/AIDS patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease, so as to improve the diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS combined with nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease. Methods A retrospective study was made on 97 HIV/AIDS patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease treated in our hospital from 2009 to 2012. Results Of 97 patients, 93 (95.88%) had cough, 88 (90.72%) had sputum, 71 (73.20%) had asthma, 70 (72.16%) had fever, 69 (71.13%) had weight loss, 58 (59.79%) had fatigue, 47 (48.45%) had chest pain, and 36 (37.11%) had diarrhea. Sixty-four patients (65.98%) were infected with HIV through sexual transmission, 26 (26.80%) through intravenous drug use, 2 (2.06%) through blood transfusion, and 5 (5.15%) through unknown routes. Chest imaging showed that bilateral middle and lower lung lobes were com-monly affected, mainly in lower left lung, with diversified morphology, cavity formation and presence of bronchiectasis and pleural disease. Conclusions Because the clinical and radiologic features, and the results of sputum smear, PPD testing and tuberculosis antibody test of nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease mimic tuberculosis, discrimination of nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease from tuberculosis is difficult. The patients often present with superficial lymph node enlargement and sputum smear positive for acid-fast bacilli. Sputum culture/susceptibility testing suggests that the resistance to first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs is high, which should be paid due attention to in clinical practice.