Are there alternative treatments in addition to the oral medications?
There are antibiotics introduced by intramuscular injection or infusion therapy via use of peripherally inserted central catheters (also called PICC lines). These medicines include amikacin and streptomycin. Inhaled antibiotics such as amikacin are available but there are no published clinical studies of the effectiveness of these drugs. These forms of antibiotics aren’t usually given unless the oral medications fail. Surgery to remove portions of the damaged lung is occasionally recommended. This is especially true for patients with disease in just one part of the lung who have failed therapy or whose MAC has become resistant to clarithromycin and azithromycin.
