title: Endogenous Nocardia asteroides subretinal abscess diagnosed by transvitreal fine-needle aspiration biopsy.
abstract: The authors report a case of an endogenous Nocardia asteroides subretinal abscess in an immunosuppressed cardiac transplant recipient. On clinical grounds, the metastatic subretinal abscess was initially thought to be a fungal, atypical bacterial, or viral lesion. Transvitreal fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the lesion yielded a sufficient specimen for immediate preliminary identification of the microorganism and permitted prompt initiation of an appropriate antibiotic regimen. The definitive diagnosis was based on culture of the organism from the needle aspirate.
authors.affiliation: Oncology Unit, Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Gregor
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Augsburger
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Eagle
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jessup
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naids
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009617:Nocardia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D009616:Nocardia asteroides; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014295:Trimethoprim / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014792:Visual Acuity
chemical_list: D014295:Trimethoprim; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole