The Research Gap in Non-tuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) and Reusable Medical Devices

摘要

Patient infections with Non-tuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) have been attributed to somereusable medical devices (1, 2), such as heater cooler devices (3–5), dental unit waterlines (6),bronchoscopes (7), and automated endoscope reprocessors (8, 9). Such incidents can be relatedto insufficient reprocessing or growth of resistant organisms. For example, NTM infections canarise from patient exposure to contaminated water from established biofilms in water systems, andin some cases, aerosolization of the contaminated water (10). These medical devices are regulatedby the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Agency seeks to better understand themechanism by which devices can transmit NTM. Some NTM-specific challenges include potentiallyyears-long incubation period to clinical infection, subsequent difficulty identifying the bacteria tothe species-level and extended duration of treatment (11).