Table 4. Characteristics of RA patients who were newly diagnosed with pulmonary NTM disease and eventually died during follow-up.
| Case no. | Age/Sex | Causes of death | HRCT patterns of NTM | NTM species | Lung comorbidities‡ | Survival periods (months)* | RA therapies† | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| before | after | |||||||
| 1 | 80F | NTM exacerbation | Cavitary NB | M. intracellulare | – | 80 | MTX/ETN | MTX/ETN |
| 2 | 75F | UIP exacerbation | Unclassifiable | M. intracellulare | UIP | 2 | TAC | TAC |
| 3 | 78F | UIP exacerbation | Non-cavitary NB | M. avium | UIP | 26 | TCZ | TAC |
| 4 | 70F | NTM exacerbation | Non-cavitary NB | Mab | – | 27 | MTX | MTX |
| 5 | 84F | NTM exacerbation | Cavitary NB | M. intracellulare | – | 61 | ETN | TAC |
| 6 | 84F | NTM exacerbation | Cavitary NB | M. intracellulare | – | 45 | MTX | ABT |
| 7 | 76M | NTM exacerbation | Cavitary NB | M. intracellulare | – | 69 | SASP | SASP |
| 8 | 80F | Heart failure | Unclassifiable | M. intracellulare | – | 52 | Steroid | Steroid |
| 9 | 79F | UIP exacerbation | Fibrocavitary | Mab | UIP | 19 | Steroid | Steroid |
| 10 | 81F | Pyelonephritis | Non-cavitary NB | M. avium | – | 108 | TAC | TAC |
| 11 | 43M | NTM exacerbation | Cavitary NB | M. avium | – | 77 | MTX/ETN | ABT |
| 12 | 80F | Myelodysplasia | Cavitary NB | M. intracellulare | – | 92 | MTX | MTX |
*Survival periods represent time intervals between diagnosis of pulmonary NTM disease and death.
†RA therapies represent those that patients were receiving when pulmonary NTM disease was first suspected (before diagnosis) and those that patients decided to continue or start at the time of pulmonary NTM disease diagnosis (after diagnosis).
‡No patients had past TB.
RA, rheumatoid arthritis; NTM nontuberculous mycobacteria; TB, tuberculosis; Mab, M. abscessus complex; NB, nodular/bronchiectatic; UIP, unusual interstitial pneumonia; MTX, methotrexate; TAC, tacrolimus; SASP, salazosulfapyridine; ETN, etanercept; TCZ, tocilizumab; ABT, abatacept.