Pulmonary Disease Due to Mycobacteria (Diagnosis)

Mycobacterium abscessus (MABS) is a group of rapid-growing, multi-drug resistant non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) causing infections in humans. MABS pulmonary disease (MABS-PD) can result in significant morbidity, increased healthcare utilisation, accelerated lung function decline, impaired quality of life, more challenging lung transplantation, and increased mortality. While the overall numbers affected is small, the prevalence of infections is increasing worldwide. The Finding the Optimal Regimen for Mycobacterium abscessus Treatment (FORMaT) trial aims to produce high quality evidence for the best treatment regimens to maximise health outcomes and minimise toxicity and treatment burden, as well as developing biomarkers (serology, gene expression signatures, and radiology) to guide decisions for starting treatment and measuring disease severity in patients with MABS PD.