title: Pulmonary nocardiosis in a patient treated with corticosteroid therapy.
abstract: We report a case of pulmonary nocardiosis in a 69-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis who was receiving corticosteroid treatment. The patient received prednisolone for rheumatoid arthritis and antibiotics for his fever and pneumonia in another hospital, but the response to the therapy was poor. After admission to our hospital, he improved following treatment with imipenem/cilastatin for Nocardia asteroides. Pulmonary nocardiosis is difficult to diagnose and should be considered in the differential diagnosis, especially in an immunocompromised host.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Showa University Fujigaoka Hospital, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Narushima
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Tomihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kasai
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsuzura
authors.forename: Shogo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Endoh
authors.forename: Minehiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Hidehiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohtsuka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D015377:Cilastatin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077728:Cilastatin, Imipenem Drug Combination; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D015378:Imipenem / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008168:Lung / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D009617:Nocardia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D009616:Nocardia asteroides / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D015377:Cilastatin; D015378:Imipenem; D000077728:Cilastatin, Imipenem Drug Combination; D011239:Prednisolone