Bilateral Bronchiectasis and Bronchiolitis at Thin-Section CT: Diagnostic Implications in Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Infection

Abstract

About one-third of patients with thin-section CT findings of bilateral bronchiectasis and bronchiolitis have NTM pulmonary infection; in these situations, MAC and M abscessus are two most frequent causative organisms. Thin-section CT findings of bronchiectasis and bronchiolitis involving more than five lobes, especially when associated with lobular consolidation or a cavity, are highly suggestive of NTM pulmonary infection.