Prevalence of nontuberculous mycobacteria in HIV-infected patients with mycobacterial infections in Beijing, China

We performed a retrospectively study in a tertiary infectious diseases hospital in Beijing to explore the prevalence and risk factors of NTM among individuals with symptoms suggestive of pulmonary TB. This was a retrospective study of characteristics of patients with suggestive of active TB at Beijing Ditan Hospital. TB accounted for 93.3% of the burden of disease in Beijing cohort of HIV-infected patients with mycobacterial infections, whereas the other 6.7% were due to NTM infections. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) of Albumin combined with CD4/CD8 value for diagnosing active TB from NTM cases was 0.638, and the optimal cut-off values for Albumin and CD4/CD8 were determined as 36.15 g/L and 0.17, respectively. Overall, the most prevalent NTM species associated with pulmonary infections in HIV-infected individuals was M. intracellulare . CD4/CD8 ratio and albumin level indicating their potential as surrogate marker to differentiate TB and NTM infection in HIV-infected population.