Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Phylogenetic Relations in a German Cohort Infected with Mycobacterium abscessus
Nils Wetzstein, Thomas A. Kohl, Tilman Schultze, Sönke Andres, Carla Bellinghausen, Christian Hügel, Volkhard A. J. Kempf, Annette Lehn, Michael Hogardt, Hubert Serve, Maria J. G. T. Vehreschild, Timo Wolf, Stefan Niemann, Florian P. Maurer, Thomas A. Wichelhaus
Abstract
Mycobacterium abscessus is a highly antibiotic-resistant opportunistic pathogen causing clinically challenging infections in patients with preexisting lung diseases or under immunosuppression. Hence, reliable antibiotic susceptibility data are required for effective treatment. Aims of this study were to investigate (i) the congruence of genotypic and phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing, (ii) the relationship between resistance profile and clinical course, and (iii) the phylogenetic relations of M. abscessus in a German patient cohort.