The survey include the complete collection of 147 NTM strains, isolated from the same number of patients, from a total of 42,055 clinical specimens at the Laboratory of Clinical Mycobacteriology of Pisa University Hospital, Italy, during an 11-year study period from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2014. In the case of multiple consecutive positive cultures from the same patient, only the first isolate was included in the present study. All strains were isolated by using the BACTEC MGIT960 liquid culture system (Becton Dickinson, USA) and were identified by molecular probes (InnoLipa [Innogenetics, Belgium] and/or Genotype CM/AS [Hain Lifescience, Germany]) and by a multiplex PCR designed to discriminate MAC organisms [10 (link)]. Patients’ clinical information, including gender, age and site of infection, was obtained from clinical records; distinction between community-versus hospital-acquired infections was not possible.
Research ethics approval was not necessary for retrospective studies in our Institution; informed consent was not required as the data were analyzed anonymously.
Research ethics approval was not necessary for retrospective studies in our Institution; informed consent was not required as the data were analyzed anonymously.