Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a well described human pathogen.1 Less commonly, atypical or nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) can cause disease in humans. Recent studies report that NTM account for one-third of all pathogenic mycobacterial isolates in the United States.2
Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex (MAI) is the most common NTM causing human disease.2 It is also the most common mycobacterial cause of cervical lymphadenitis in children in areas with low endemic rates of MTB infection.3 MAI/NTM infection other than cervical adenitis is unusual in children, except in those that are immunosuppressed.4 Rarely, MAI presents as mediastinal or endobronchial disease in otherwise healthy children.
Thin-Section CT Findings of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Diseases: Comparison Between Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Complex and Mycobacterium abscessus Infection