TY - JOUR
T1 - Mycobacterial infections in coal workers' pneumoconiosis patients in South Korea
AU - Kim, Young Mi
AU - Kim, Myungshin
AU - Kim, Seong Keun
AU - Park, Kyoungsil
AU - Jin, Song Hyo
AU - Lee, Ui Sun
AU - Kim, Yonggoo
AU - Chae, Gue Tae
AU - Lee, Seong Beom
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was financially supported by the Catholic Medical Center Research Foundation made in the program year of 2006.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) is the most common occupational disease in South Korea and is an important factor in the development of infections with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). In the current study, we identified mycobacterial species that cause pulmonary infections in CWP patients, using rpoB DNA-PCR-restriction analysis. Among the 129 CWP patients studied, 35 (27.1%) were diagnosed as having mycobacterial infections. Among these, the proportion of NTM infections (21/35, 60.0%) was higher than that for MTB infections (14/35, 40.0%). Of the 21 NTM strains, the most common was M. intracellulare (6/21, 28.6%), followed by M. avium (5/21, 23.8%). We also compared the characteristics of CWP patients between the MTB and NTM infection groups. A higher proportion of CWP patients with NTM infections compared with those with MTB infections had a history of having been involved in rock work (38.1% vs 21.4%), and had complicated CWP (85.7% vs 35.7%) and a past history of TB treatment (61.9% vs 50.0%). We also discovered 3 MTB mutants that are resistant to first-line anti-TB drugs, in CWP patients. These results demonstrate the features of pulmonary mycobacterial infections with a predominance of NTM in CWP patients in South Korea.
AB - Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) is the most common occupational disease in South Korea and is an important factor in the development of infections with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). In the current study, we identified mycobacterial species that cause pulmonary infections in CWP patients, using rpoB DNA-PCR-restriction analysis. Among the 129 CWP patients studied, 35 (27.1%) were diagnosed as having mycobacterial infections. Among these, the proportion of NTM infections (21/35, 60.0%) was higher than that for MTB infections (14/35, 40.0%). Of the 21 NTM strains, the most common was M. intracellulare (6/21, 28.6%), followed by M. avium (5/21, 23.8%). We also compared the characteristics of CWP patients between the MTB and NTM infection groups. A higher proportion of CWP patients with NTM infections compared with those with MTB infections had a history of having been involved in rock work (38.1% vs 21.4%), and had complicated CWP (85.7% vs 35.7%) and a past history of TB treatment (61.9% vs 50.0%). We also discovered 3 MTB mutants that are resistant to first-line anti-TB drugs, in CWP patients. These results demonstrate the features of pulmonary mycobacterial infections with a predominance of NTM in CWP patients in South Korea.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=70849085439&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00365540903089468
DO - 10.1080/00365540903089468
M3 - Article
C2 - 19565408
AN - SCOPUS:70849085439
SN - 0036-5548
VL - 41
SP - 656
EP - 662
JO - Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases
JF - Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases
IS - 9
ER -
