Reactive cutaneous cytophagocytosis in nocardiosis.
Cutaneous nocardiosis, which usually manifests in the form of pustules, abscesses, or subcutaneous nodules, is occasionally found in immunocompromised patients. A 59-yr-old Korean man with myasthenia gravis and thymoma developed nodular skin lesions on his trunk. Histopathologically, abscess formation with a dense infiltrate of neutrophils and many cytophagic histiocytes were observed. Numerous filamentous organisms, which turned out to be Nocardia asteroides by culture, were also found. After sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim therapy, all of the skin lesions rapidly decreased in size, with a marked diminution of the number of cytophagic histiocytes, and cleared up within four months. On reporting a case of cutaneous nocardiosis showing unusual histopathologic findings, we considered that reactive conditions should be included in the differential diagnosis of the cutaneous cytophagocytosis, and that nocardiosis could be one of the diseases showing reactive cytophagocytosis.
Kim
Chi-Yeon
CY
Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Chinju, Korea.
Kim
Tae-Heung
TH
Lee
Won-Sup
WS
Lee
Ai-Young
AY
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006644:Histiocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000150:complications; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D009617:Nocardia Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D009616:Nocardia asteroides / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000276:immunology*; D017192:Skin Diseases, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D013945:Thymoma / Q000150:complications; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination