Thank you to all who participated in our NTMnet meeting at ESCMID Global, Barcelona – the first in-person meeting in quite some time.
During the meeting, we had a nice transition from the history of NTMnet to the ambitions for the future of NTMnet, as presented by Natalie Lorent and Jakko van Ingen.
Claire Andrejak presented an excellent keynote on the history of NTMnet, the state of NTM today, and future needs, highlighting the need for European collaborations on multicenter trials, a clinical register, guideline development, and discussing very difficult-to-treat cases.
Nils Wetzstein presented the revamped NTMnet website (https://www.ntmnet.org) and how to propose studies for evaluation and endorsement by NTMnet.
A short overview of the five current NTMnet study proposals was presented. Jakko van Ingen proposed investigating which antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed for the initial treatment of M. abscessus pulmonary disease. He also proposed a study to examine differences in symptom burdens of NTM-PD, as perceived by the patients, in different countries. Christoph Lange proposed to validate a symptom diary for patients with NTM as a treatment monitoring tool. Nils Wetzstein presented a study on the clinical relevance and treatment outcomes of less common NTMs across Europe using the NTMscope registry system and a similar study on disseminated NTM disease.
The ongoing study by Heinke Kunst and Mimi Malhotra aiming to understand the practice and management of NTM-PD in Europe was presented and is expected to close for participation shortly. We encourage everyone to participate by filling out the survey: https://forms.gle/vrpzVcfrMVp51HFt5
The focus areas of NTMnet for the coming years—facilitating research collaborations and supporting NTM-related educational purposes — were presented.
The meeting ended with an exciting discussion on several items of interest to NTMnet, such as funding opportunities, the unmet need for a prospective NTM registry integrating already existing national initiatives, and the potential for cooperation with ESGMYC and EURAID to establish a cohort for pragmatic trials.
Lastly, an M. chimaera outbreak has been reported in Germany. If any NTMnet members know of such cases, they are kindly requested to contact Margo Diricks.
Thank you to all for a stimulating meeting. All interested in sculpting the way forward are encouraged to contact us at info@ntmnet.org
NTMnet steering committee
Nils, Victor, Andreas & Natalie
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