Pre- and post-surgical treatment with sputum clearance, relapse and mortality (early and total)
| First author [ref.] | Patients n | NTM species | Pre-surgery antibiotics % on antibiotics; duration; macrolide; % sputum clearance | Post-surgery antibiotics % on antibiotics; duration | Follow up duration#,¶ | Sputum conversion immediately post-surgery | Relapse | Mortality early and total |
| Studies without clarithromycin | ||||||||
| Elkadi [23] | 48 | M. kansasii 54% M. intracellulare 42% Rapid grower 2% | 100%; 1–22 months; no clarithromycin; 54% | Up to 9 months or until sputum conversion | Not reported | 85.4% With additional antibiotics 100% | Not reported | None and None |
| Pomerantz [36] | 38 | MAC 87% M. kansaii 2.6% M. chelonae 2.6% M. xenopi 2.6% | 100%; 3 months; no clarithromycin; 32% | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | 2.6% and 21% |
| Ono [35] | 8 | MAC 100% | 62.5%; 8.1 months (1–30 months); no clarithromycin; 12.5% | Nil treatment post-operatively | 20 months# (4–56) | 100% | 13% 6 months | None and None |
| Nelson [38] | 28 | MAC 100% | 100%; 1 year (1–6 years); 61% had clarithromycin; 50% | 100%; up to 12 months | 39 months# | >90% 3 months after surgery: 93% (of those alive) | 4% 2 years | 7% and 14%+ |
| Shiraishi [34] | 33 | MAC 100% | 85%; 8 months (1–64 months);
4% had clarithromycin; 35% | 91%; 13 months (1–96 months) | (1–18 years) | 94% | 3% 5 years 12% 10 years | None and 6% |
| Studies incorporating clarithromycin | ||||||||
| Shiraishi [28] | 21 | MAC 100% | 100%; 11 months (2.2–29.1); 100% on clarithromycin; 38% | 90%; 6–12 months | 35 months¶ (6–99) | 100% | 10% 2 years | None and None |
| Shiraishi [29] | 11 | MAC 91% M. abscessus 9% | 100%; 57 months
(13–109 months); 100% had clarithromycin; Not reported | 64%; 6–24 months | 2 years¶ (0.6–17) | 100% | 9% 2 years | None and 18% |
| Watanabe [39] | 22 | MAC 100% | 100%; 17 months (2–37 months); 82% on clarithromycin; 80%§ | 100%; 6–35 months | 46 months¶ (6–164) | 90% 100% after antimicrobials | Not reported | None and None |
| Mitchell [43] | 236 | MAC 80% M. abscessus 14% | 100%; 2–6 months; 57% negative sputum prior surgery | Not reported | Not reported | 100% | Not reported | 2.6% and 2.6% |
| Koh [40] | 23 | MAC 43% M. abscessus 52% M. xenopi 4% | 87%; 7.5 months (5–17 months);100% on clarithromycin; 26% | 97%; 12 months (6–26 months) | 14 months¶ (IQR 6–11) | 100% (in 1–2 months) | Not reported | None and 9% |
| van Ingen [19] | 8 | MAC 87.5% M. xenopi 12.5% | 100%; 22 months; Not reported | 50%; 9 months | 19 months# | 88% | 0% 19 months | 12.5% and 12.5% |
| Yu [30] | 128 | MAC 88% M. abscessus or chelonae 10% | 100%; at least 2–3 months; Not reported | 100%; duration not reported | 23 months# (0–70) | 84% 97% sputum negative at final follow up at 34 months | 7% 17 months | None and None |
| Jarand [41] | 24 | M. abscessus 100% | 100%; uncertain; % macrolide uncertain; 71% | 100%; duration not separately reported for surgery group | 34 months (2–82)# | Uncertain Overall 65% | Never converted or relapsed 35% | Uncertain and 17% |
| Shiraishi [31] | 60 | MAC 92% M. abscessus 5% M. gordonae 1.6% M. xenopi 1.6% | 100%; 14.2 months (3.3–75.2); 100% clarithromycin; Not reported | 100%; at least 12 months post-surgery or post-sputum conversion | 34 months¶ (13–70) | 100% | 3% 34 months | None and None |
| Asakura [37] | 125 | MAC 80% M. Intracellulare 8% M. abscessus 5% M. kansasi 3% Others 5% | 94% treatment before and after surgery; 7 months (IQR 6–18 months); 82% clarithromycin; Not reported | 94% (before and after); 7 months (IQR 6–18 months) | 7.1 years¶ (IQR 3.5–10.3) | 91% | 5% 1 year 10% 3 years 15% 5 years 20% 19 years | 4% and 4% |
#: mean; ¶: median (range); +: 2 patients (7%) suffered late deaths due to unrelated causes; §: only those (5 out of 25) who did not sputum convert were referred on for surgical treatment and joined 17 other patients from another hospital to make up to 22 patients in the cohort.