Rapid identification of non-tuberculous mycobacteria with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Rapid and accurate identification of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is important for a prompt start to antibiotic therapy. The aim of this study was to obtain accurate identification of NTM quickly by analyzing the performance of the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) system VITEK® MS in identifying various NTM species from solid medium and MGIT 960 liquid medium. The study was performed in two phases: preliminary and perspective. Overall,...