Table 2.
Symptoms and signs at the time of the first positive NTM isolation in 167 patients categorised according to MAC and other NTM species
| MAC, n = 99 | Other NTM, n = 68 | Total, n = 167 | p-Value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n b | (%) | n b | (%) | n b | (%) | ||
| Duration of symptoms | |||||||
| <1 year | 33 | (34) | 37 | (54) | 70 | (43) | 0.01a,c |
| 1–2 years | 35 | (36) | 18 | (26) | 53 | (32) | |
| 3–10 years | 17 | (18) | 10 | (15) | 27 | (16) | |
| >10 years | 11 | (12) | 3 | (4) | 14 | (9) | |
| Respiratory symptoms | |||||||
| Cough | 79 | (80) | 49 | (72) | 128 | (77) | 0.25a |
| Dyspnoea | 53 | (54) | 32 | (47) | 85 | (51) | 0.41a |
| Haemoptysis | 25 | (25) | 13 | (19) | 38 | (23) | 0.35a |
| Systemic symptoms | |||||||
| Fatigue | 47 | (47) | 22 | (32) | 69 | (41) | 0.05a |
| Fever >37.5 °C | 48 | (48) | 21 | (31) | 69 | (41) | 0.02a |
| Weight loss | 32 | (32) | 17 | (25) | 49 | (29) | 0.31a |
| Non-specific symptoms | |||||||
| Decreased appetite | 13 | (13) | 11 | (16) | 24 | (14) | 0.58a |
| Palpitation | 12 | (12) | 9 | (13) | 21 | (13) | 0.83a |
| Chest pain | 14 | (14) | 10 | (15) | 24 | (14) | 0.92a |
| Arthralgia | 7 | (7) | 5 | (8) | 12 | (7) | 1.00d |
| Night sweats | 7 | (7) | 1 | (1) | 8 | (5) | 0.14d |
| Lymphadenitis | 4 | (4) | 4 | (6) | 8 | (5) | 0.72 d |
aChi-squared test
bValues are expressed as n (%) patients with valid information, unless otherwise stated
cThe categories 1–2, 3–10 and >10 years were combined before analysis
dFisher’s exact test