ArticleRespiration; international review of thoracic diseases2026
Real-World Experience of Prolonged Treatment for Treatment-Refractory Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease: Benefits and Harms of Extending Therapy beyond 24 Months.
Article in Respiration; international review of thoracic diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionClinicians often extend antibiotic therapy for refractory nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD), despite potential side effects and the uncertain benefits of extended therapy. In this study, we present our real-world experience with prolonged antibiotic therapy in patients with treatment-refractory NTM-PD.
methodsWe reviewed adult patients with treatment-refractory NTM-PD treated at a tertiary referral center in South Korea between April 2003 and July 2024. Eligible patients did not achieve sustained culture conversion within 6 months and received macrolide-based therapy for at least 18 months. Patients were grouped into prolonged treatment (≥24 months) and shorter treatment (18-24 months) groups. The microbiological, radiographic, and clinical outcomes were analyzed.
resultsAmong the 123 patients, 50 (40.7%) received prolonged therapy. Patients who underwent prolonged treatment had a more frequent history of tuberculosis (44.0% vs. 24.7%, p = 0.040) and autoimmune diseases (14.0% vs. 1.4%, p = 0.016), although the other baseline characteristics were similar. The use of clofazimine, intravenous aminoglycosides, and inhaled amikacin was significantly higher in the prolonged group, along with a higher incidence of anemia as a side effect (14.0% vs. 2.7%, p = 0.030). Acquired macrolide resistance appeared to be more common in the prolonged group (14.0% vs. 6.8%), but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.315). Over a median follow-up of 4.4 years, prolonged treatment was not associated with a lower risk of retreatment or all-cause mortality. The rates of microbiological cure, sputum smear conversion, radiographic progression, and weight change did not differ between groups.
conclusionExtending antibiotic therapy beyond 24 months in patients with treatment-refractory NTM-PD does not necessarily confer additional microbiological, radiographic, or survival benefits, and may increase the risk of adverse events. Therefore, prolonged therapy should be reserved for selected patients, with close monitoring for side effects and macrolide resistance.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.