Burden of NTM demonstrated in new study

A study published in the European Respiratory Journal, has revealed the high mortality rate and financial burden of non-tuberculosis mycobacterium pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) on patients is almost four times that of a matched group.

Comparing 125 newly diagnosed NTM-PD patients with 1,250 control patients over a period of 39 months the team found the all-cause mortality rate for those diagnosed was 22.4% rather than 6% for the control group. Additionally, in the same observation period, the all-cause mortality rate in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who had NTM-PD was 41.5% compared with only 15.9% in COPD patients without NTM-PD.

In looking at the financial burden, the researchers found that over 39 months the mean direct expenditure for an NTM-PD patient was €39,559.60, which was almost four times that of the matched control group (€10,006.71). The majority of this expenditure was a result of hospitalisations with drugs coming in at the second biggest cost factor.

The team also noted discrepancy across individual treatments. Just over half of the patients evaluated received antibiotics on diagnosis with slightly over a quarter not receiving antibiotics at all and 29 different drug combinations observed across all treatments.

“Although NTM-PD is considered rare, these findings highlight that the burden of the disease is high,” remarked Dr Michael Loebinger, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, and one of the study's authors. “Treatment can be hard to tolerate and may be unsuccessful, making treatment decisions complex. To help with this challenge, the British Thoracic Society will be releasing new guidelines this year.”