Clinical and radiological features of patients with organizing pneumonia caused by nontuberculous mycobacterial: cases reports and literatures review

Organizing pneumonia (OP) refers to the organized polypoid granulation tissue in the terminal bronchioles, alveolar ducts as well as alveoli, with distinctive radiological and histologic features and response to treatment. We herein reported two cases of secondary organizing pneumonia (SOP) due to nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) and reviewed the literatures of SOP caused by NTM. The chest computed tomography (CT) imaging showed consolidation shadows in the right lobe of the two cases, and the cases were diagnosed as NTM and received anti-NTM therapy. Further lung biopsy confirmed the SOP caused by nontuberculous mycobacterial. The literature review indicated that the anti-NTM therapy combined with hormone therapy was effective with favorable prognosis. The possibility of SOP caused by NTM should be considered when antibiotics are not effective with the signs of lesion progression and presence of interstitial changes of both lower lobes in clinical practice.