Mycobacterium abscessus disease in lung transplant recipients: Diagnosis and management

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Satish Chandrashekaran, Emory University; Patricio Escalante, Mayo Clinic; Cassie C. Kennedy, Mayo Clinic
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-12-01
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2017 The Authors
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jctube.2017.08.002
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases
• Volume: 9
• Start Page: 10
• End Page: 18
• Grant/Funding Information: Cassie C. Kennedy M.D. is supported by the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN and the NHLBI grant K23 HL128859 from the National Institutes of Health. The manuscript contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NIH.
• Keywords: lung infection; lung transplant; Mycobacterial abscessus complex
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Health Sciences, Pathology

Abstract

Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MAbsC) disease in lung transplant recipients is increasingly being recognized as an important cause of graft function decline and suboptimal outcomes. Lung transplant recipients appear to be at the highest risk of MAbsC among solid organ transplant recipients, as they have more intense immunosuppression, and the organisms preferentially inhabit the lungs. MAbsC is the most resistant species of rapidly growing mycobacteria and difficult to treat, causing considerable mortality and morbidity in immunocompetent and immunosuppressed patients. Herein we describe the risk factors, epidemiology, clinical features, diagnostics, and treatment strategies of MAbsC in lung transplant candidates and recipients.