Pulmonary Mycobacterium abscessus infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients is difficult to treat and considered a contra‐indication for lung transplantation in most centers. We present four CF patients with chronic pulmonary M abscessus infection, in whom lung transplantation was performed. Through intensive treatment before transplantation, we achieved control of the infection in all but one patient. After a mean of 16 months of follow up, 3 patients are doing well, without evidence of local or disseminated recurrence. One patient died early post‐transplant due to an unrelated cause. These findings support the possibility of lung transplantation with favorable outcome in CF patients with M abscessus infection.

No abstract

P ulmonary infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a chronic, often progressive, debilitating disease. Most published data show that the frequency of NTM pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) is increasing worldwide (1-6), as are its substantial medical costs (7,8). The cause of this rise has not yet been elucidated. NTM are widespread in the environment but disease is uncommon, suggesting that host susceptibility is critical, although exposure magnitude is also likely key (9-11). Some observations indicate that the Mycobacterium avium complex