Why is there a need for long-term medication therapy?
The response to antibiotic therapy, unlike bacterial infections, is very slow. MAC causes nodular activity in the lungs. The nodules are round and impacted and can cause antibiotics to work ineffectively. There is also a chance that the germs can become “resistant” to antibiotics, thereby rendering antibiotics useless and ineffective. Monthly sputum samples must be collected for culture in order to receive effective treatment. Testing for susceptibility of the MAC to clarithromycin or azithromycin in the laboratory (called drug susceptibility testing) should be performed every four to six months while on drug treatment. The medication regimen must be changed to different antibiotics if the germs are no longer “susceptible” to the clarithromycin.
