Epidemiology of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Infection in Children and Young People With Cystic Fibrosis: Analysis of UK Cystic Fibrosis Registry

Background. Infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is of growing clinical concern in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). The epidemiology of infection in children and young people remains poorly understood. Our goal was to investigate the epidemiology of NTM infection in the pediatric age group using data from the UK CF Registry. Methods. Data from 2010-2015 for individuals aged <16 years (23 200 observations from 5333 unique individuals) were obtained. Univariate analysis of unique individuals comparing all key clinical factors and health outcomes to NTM status was performed. The significant factors that were identified were used to generate a multivariate logistic regression model that, following step-wise removal, generated a final parsimonious model. Results. The prevalence of individuals with a NTM-positive respiratory culture increased every year from 2010 (45 [1.3%]) to 2015 (156 [3.8%]). Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (odds ratio [OR], 2.66; P = 5.0 x 10(-8)), age (OR, 1.08; P = 3.4 x 10(-10)), and intermittent Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection (OR, 1.51; P = .004) were significantly associated with NTM infection. Conclusions. NTM infection is of increasing prevalence in the UK pediatric CF population. This study highlights the urgent need for work to establish effective treatment and prevention strategies for NTM infection in young people with CF.