The role of Mycobacterium xenopi in human disease

Am Rev Respir Dis. 1984 Mar;129(3):435-8. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1984.129.3.435.

Abstract

Mycobacterium xenopi is infrequently recognized as a cause of pulmonary infection. We isolated this organism from 28 patients over a 3-yr period. It was nonpathogenic in 19 and pathogenic in 9. Clinical illness occurred in middle-aged men with other chronic pulmonary diseases. Therapy was associated with clinical improvement, but most isolates were resistant to first-line antituberculosis drugs. The prevalence of M. xenopi varies geographically, but in the province of Ontario, it is second to M. avium-intracellulare as the most common nontuberculous mycobacterial pathogen.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Antitubercular Agents / pharmacology
  • Drug Resistance, Microbial
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lung Diseases, Obstructive / complications
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / drug therapy
  • Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / microbiology
  • Nontuberculous Mycobacteria / drug effects
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / drug therapy
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / microbiology*

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents