Introduction: The clinical relevance of Mycobacterium malmoense isolation from pulmonary specimens has been considered high compared with other non-tuberculous mycobacteria. In this study, we aimed to analyse all published clinical data of patients with M. malmoense isolation to investigate the clinicalspectrum, relevance, and outcomes of infections with this uncommon mycobacterium.
Methods: A systematic review of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus was performed to identify all clinical data about M. malmoense. Random effects meta-analyses of proportions were calculated for clinical relevance, treatment success, and mortality, as well as for other clinical characteristics. A logistic regression analysis, investigating predictors of mortality, as well as Kaplan-Meier survival analyses, were performed.
Results: One hundred and eighty eight patients with individual data from 112 articles and 671 patients with pooled data from 12 articles were included in the meta-analyses. Of patients with individual data, pulmonary infection was the most common manifestation (n = 106/188, 56.4%). One third (n = 61/188, 32.4%)suffered from isolated extra-pulmonary and 21/188 (11.2%) from disseminated disease. In 288 patients with pooled data and pulmonary affection, clinical relevance was high with 68% (95% CI 44–85%) of patients fulfilling criteria for clinical disease. Macrolide and rifamycin-containing regimens were associated with improved survival (adjusted OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.03–0.42, p = 0.002, and 0.23, 95% CI 0.04–0.86, p = 0.03, for lethal events, respectively).
Conclusion: In this study, we provide a detailed clinical description of M. malmoense infections. The pathogen is of high clinical relevance for the individual patient with more than 2 out of 3 patients having relevant disease and > 40% of manifestations being extra-pulmonary or disseminated. Macrolide and rifamycin-containing regimens are associated with improved survival.