Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) lung disease

Although symptoms of MAC lung disease resemble symptoms of other lung diseases or infections, symptoms of MAC lung disease often get worse over time and tend not to go away without proper treatment. Symptoms can include:

• Coughing
• Feeling tired
• Shortness of breath
• Weight loss/loss of appetite
• Low-grade fever

Due to the symptoms of MAC lung disease being similar to other lung conditions, diagnosis can be delayed. To help determine if a patient has MAC lung disease, the doctor may perform a physical exam, review medical history including current symptoms, collect a sputum culture and/or tissue sample, and perform a chest X-ray and/or CT scan. When samples are taken for diagnosis, they are checked to see if MAC will grow. It may take about 2 weeks for MAC to grow and be identified under a microscope.

MAC lung disease infections are relatively resistant to antibiotics and can become more resistant if only one antibiotic is used to treat the infection. Typically, two or three antibiotics are prescribed depending on how bad the infection is and which antibiotics the infection is susceptible to. Treatment is often continued for months. Treatment duration is guided by sputum culture results and treatment is continued for a period of time after MAC is no longer present in the sputum and symptoms have resolved. It is very important to stick to the treatment regimen as prescribed to have the best chance of getting rid of the MAC infection. In addition to antibiotics that are taken by mouth, an aminoglycoside medication (amikacin), is available via inhalation to treat adults who have limited or no alternative treatment options. Amikacin inhalation is used in combination with other antibiotics in patients who do not achieve negative sputum cultures after a minimum of 6 months of a regimen with multiple antibiotics.