Intrathoracic Disease From Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in Children: Two Cases and a Review of the Literature

Pulmonary disease caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a relatively rare occurrence in immunocompetent children. Two cases of endobronchial NTM infection in immunocompetent children are described. In addition, 41 other children with NTM pulmonary disease reported in the English literature between 1930 and 2003 are reviewed. Clinical manifestations are either purely respiratory or respiratory with more widespread systemic symptoms. Compared with children with only respiratory complaints, children with constitutional symptoms from NTM pulmonary disease 1) had symptoms for a shorter period before presentation (10 vs 28 days), 2) had more radiographic evidence of pulmonary disease, and 3) were treated longer with antimycobacterial agents (11.5 months vs 6 months). The most common causative organism was Mycobacterium avium complex. Pediatricians should be increasingly aware of NTM in the differential diagnosis of persistent pulmonary disease in previously healthy children.