OBJECTIVE: This study aims to estimate the overall in vitro activity of bedaquiline (BDQ) against clinical isolates of Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABS) and M. avium complex (MAC), considering BDQ as a repurposed drug for non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections.
METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of publications in PubMed/ MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Embase up to 15 April 2023. Studies were included if they followed the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) criteria for drug susceptibility testing (DST). Using a random effects model, we assessed the overall in vitro BDQ resistance rate in clinical isolates of MABS and MAC. Sources of heterogeneity were analysed using Cochran\'s Q and the I2 statistic. All analyses were performed using CMA V3.0.
RESULTS: A total of 24 publications (19 reports for MABS and 11 for MAC) were included. Using 1 µg/mL and 2 µg/mL as the breakpoint for BDQ resistance, the pooled rates of in vitro BDQ resistance in clinical isolates of MABS were found to be 1.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.7-4.6%) and 1.7% (95% CI, 0.6-4.4%), respectively. In the case of MAC, the pooled rates were 1.7% (95% CI, 0.4-6.9%) and 1.6% (95% CI, 0.4-6.8%) for 1 µg/mL and 2 µg/mL, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: This study reports the prevalence of BDQ resistance in clinical isolates of MABS and MAC. The findings suggest that BDQ holds potential as a repurposed drug for treating MABS and MAC infections.

UNASSIGNED: In recent decades, there has been a substantial surge in the incidence of non-tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) infections. However, the diagnosis and management of NTM globally present significant challenges, particularly in cases involving Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC) infection where effective therapeutic options are limited.
UNASSIGNED: We reported a 38-year-old female patient who was infected with MABC of skin due to \"beauty needle\" at a beauty salon, with mass on both cheeks, accompanied by redness, and pain, and some of them was ulcered and effused. Puncture pumping pus from bilateral cheek mass for many times, rinsed with \"metronidazole\", and oral \"cephalosporin\" treatment did not work. Therefore, she came to our hospital. MABC was detected in abscess paracentesis pus by nucleic acid mass spectrometry, and was proved by the cultured result of the pus. Thus, the patient was diagnosed as skin MABC infection, and anti-NTM treatment was taken. However, adverse reactions such as tinnitus, hepatotoxicity and neurovirulence occurred during the initial treatment. After adjusting to the contezolid-containing regimen, these adverse reactions improved. After nearly 6 months of treatment, the cheek mass was gradually reduced and the skin ruptures were gradually healed. Follow-up for 10 months showed that the patient\'s facial symptoms were significantly improved, and no drug-related adverse reactions happened.
UNASSIGNED: This was the first successful case of multiple drug resistance MABC infection of skin treated with contezolid-containing antibiotic management strategies, which exhibited remarkable efficacy and good safety in this intractable disease.

Cosmetic surgeries are very popular and glamorized by the mainstream media and celebrities. Many individuals perceive certain bodily features as appealing for physical attraction and will attempt to obtain these features by surgery. However, these surgeries are not without risk, and significant consequences can occur if not performed by qualified medical professionals under sterile procedures. The authors present novel cases of two healthy young female patients who underwent a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) procedure a week apart by the same plastic surgeon in Mexico and developed dark painful lesions secondary to Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus), a multidrug-resistant non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM). The literature review shows a paucity of data concerning NTM infections via surgical procedures of this type. The first case was of a 31-year-old woman who underwent a BBL and presented with bilateral dark painful buttock lesions weeks later. The patient returned to the plastic surgeon, who drained some lesions and prescribed oral antibiotics. The patient\'s clinical status continued to deteriorate and presented to the hospital for further assessment. The patient was initially started on broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy. The patient was found to have an HIV infection with a relatively preserved CD4 lymphocyte count and was started on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Intraoperative excisional tissue sample cultures grew M. abscessus. The patient was started on empiric tigecycline, cefoxitin, and linezolid. Preliminary culture susceptibilities showed resistance to linezolid. Linezolid was discontinued, amikacin was started, and cefoxitin and tigecycline were continued. Tigecycline, cefoxitin, and amikacin were continued and final susceptibilities showed sensitivity to the current treatment. The patient received a total of four months of treatment with tigecycline, cefoxitin, and amikacin. The second case was of a 28-year-old woman who underwent a BBL a week after the first patient by the same surgeon and developed multiple gluteal and body abscesses. The patient underwent bilateral thigh and gluteal, right chest wall, and breast surgical debridements with intraoperative cultures at a different hospital facility, which grew M. abscessus. Susceptibilities were not performed there. The patient was transferred to our facility for further care. Intraoperative cultures remained negative, and the patient was treated with a six-month course of tigecycline, cefoxitin, and amikacin.

One of the most relevant and pathogenic groups among the rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) is Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC) that includes three subspecies: M. abscessus subsp. abscessus, M. abscessus subsp. bolletii, and M. abscessus subsp. massiliense. The aim of this study was the analysis of prevalence of MABC among other non-tuberculous mycobacteria isolated from patients in the Malopolska Region of Poland, between 2018 and 2021, as well as determination of their subspecies and molecular mechanisms of resistance to macrolides and aminoglycosides. The incidence of MABC was 5,4% (12/223). Eight strains were classified as M. abscessus subsp. abscessus, three as M. abscessus subsp. massiliense and one M. abscessus subsp. bolletii. Molecular analysis showed resistance to macrolides for eight strains of M. abscessus subsp. abscessus associated with erm(41)T28 gene mutations. One strain of M. abscessus subsp. abscessus showed resistance to macrolides (two mutations simultaneously: in erm(41)T28 and rrl genes) and aminoglycosides (point mutation in rrs gene). One strain of M. abscessus subs. bolletii was resistant to macrolides (erm(41)T28 mutation), whereas presented no mutations for aminoglycosides. M. abscessus subsp. massiliense reveal no mutations. High clarithromycin resistance of M. abscessus, determines the urgent need for susceptibility-based treatment. Molecular determination of resistance mechanisms to aminoglycosides and macrolides enables fast and accurate targeted treatment implementation.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are a diverse group of mycobacterial species that are ubiquitous in the environment. They are opportunistic pathogens that can cause a range of diseases, especially in individuals with underlying structural lung disease or compromised immune systems.
This paper provides an in-depth analysis of NTM infections, including microbiology, environmental sources and transmission pathways, risk factors for disease, epidemiology, clinical manifestations and diagnostic approaches, guideline-based treatment recommendations, drugs under development, and management challenges.
Future approaches to the management of NTM pulmonary disease will require therapies that are well tolerated, can be taken for a shorter time period and perhaps less frequently, have few drug-drug interactions, and are active against the various strains of pathogens. As the numbers of infections increase, such therapies will be welcomed by clinicians and patients.

The incidence of infections caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is rising around the world, and they are becoming increasingly difficult to treat due to the bacteria being drug-resistant to several antibiotics commonly used in practice. Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC) is particularly difficult to treat as it is one of the most antibiotic-resistant species and, therefore, has limited treatment options that are effective at clearing the infection. We present the case of an 81-year-old female who was diagnosed with Mycobacterium abscessus after several hospital admissions in a short period of time for similar complaints, and we will discuss her diagnosis and possible treatment plan. This case explores the challenges that physicians face in diagnosing NTM infections due to them mimicking several other conditions and raises the importance of having a high clinical suspicion.

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection is a major cause of morbidity in people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) with rates of infection increasing worldwide. Accurate diagnosis and decisions surrounding best management remain challenging. Treatment guidelines have been developed to assist physicians in managing NTM in pwCF, but involve prolonged and complex mycobacterial regimens, often associated with significant toxicity. Fortunately, current management and outcomes of NTM in CF are likely to evolve due to improved understanding of disease acquisition, better diagnostics, emerging antimycobacterial therapies, and the widespread uptake of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator therapies.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the differences in epidemiological and clinical data, and antimicrobial susceptibilities among different subspecies of Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABSC) clinical isolates at a medical school in Thailand.
METHODS: A total of 143 MABSC clinical isolates recovered from 74 patients were genotypically analyzed for erm(41), rrl, and rrs mutations, and antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined using a broth microdilution method. Patient characteristics and clinical outcomes were reviewed from the medical records.
RESULTS: Seventy-four patients were infected with 28/74 (37.8%) M. abscessus subspecies abscessus (MAB), 43/74 (58.1%) M. abscessus subsp. massiliense (MMA), and 3/74 (4.1%) M. abscessus subsp. bolletii (MBO). The clinical findings and outcomes were generally indistinguishable between the three subspecies. All three subspecies of MABSC clinical isolates exhibited high resistance rates to ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, moxifloxacin, TMP/SMX, and tobramycin. MAB had the highest resistance rates to clarithromycin (27.8%, 20/72) and amikacin (6.9%, 5/72) compared to MBO and MMA, with p < 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively. In addition, the rough morphotype was significantly associated with resistance to amikacin (8.9%, 5/56), clarithromycin (26.8%, 15/56), and imipenem (76.8%, 43/56) (p < 0.001), whereas the smooth morphotype was resistant to linezolid (57.1%, 48/84) (p = 0.002). In addition, T28 of erm(41), rrl (A2058C/G and A2059C/G), and rrs (A1408G) mutations were detected in 87.4% (125/143), 16.1% (23/143), and 9.1% (13/143) of MABSC isolates, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Three MABSC subspecies caused a variety of infections in patients with different underlying comorbidities. The drug susceptibility patterns of the recent circulating MABSC strains in Thailand were different among the three MABSC subspecies and two morphotypes.

Difficult-to-treat mycobacterial infections are increasing globally. There is an urgent need of new treatment alternatives for multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), as well as nontuberculous mycobacteria such as the Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC) and Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). Recently, new carbapenems and combinations of carbapenems with β-lactamase inhibitors have become available, but activity data in vitro against mycobacteria are so far scarce. Therefore, we performed a systematic review collating the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of carbapenems, with or without a β-lactamase inhibitors for MTB, MABC, and MAC. The databases PubMed and Web of Science were searched for the relevant articles in English up until September 21, 2022. Screening of studies was performed by two independent reviewers. MIC data by recommended methods with at least five individual MICs were included. Data were reported as MIC range, MIC50, modal MIC, and/or histograms when individual MICs were available. The study protocol was registered at PROSPERO (CRD42021258537). After screening, a total of 75 studies with MIC data for carbapenems with or without β-lactamase inhibitors were included in the review. For MTB, the oral carbapenem tebipenem combined with the β-lactamase inhibitor clavulanic acid resulted in the most significant reduction of MICs. For MABC, the addition of avibactam to tebipenem resulted in a 64-fold reduction of modal MIC. Data were insufficient for the analysis of MAC. Carbapenems, and in particular the novel oral compound tebipenem, in combination with clavulanic acid for MTB and avibactam for MABC may be an untapped potential for difficult-to-treat mycobacterial infections.

Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABSC) subspecies differentiation improves patients\' therapy and outcome. Fourier-Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IRS) was applied for subspecies discrimination of 15 strains on different media: Löwenstein-Jensen showed the best resolution power; Linear Discriminant Analysis model differentiated M. abscessus susbsp. abscessus from M. abscessus subsp. massiliense. FT-IRS has a potential role in rapidly MABSC subspecies identification.