title: Septic arthritis caused by Nocardia asteroides in a renal transplant recipient.
abstract: Although articular complications are common following renal transplantation, septic arthritis is not frequent. Previous bacterial infection in an another site is a consistent finding and the knee is the most often affected joint. We present a 30-year-old female renal transplant recipient with recurrent pulmonary infiltrates preceding septic arthritis of her left knee. Cultures of the aspirated synovial fluid yielded a gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium later identified as Nocardia asteroides. The patient was treated with oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole without any side effect. Nocardia is a rare but serious cause of infection in renal transplant recipients but there is no well-known predisposing factor. Recently mycophenolate mofetil has been implicated as a factor associated with Nocardia infections. Prolonged courses of treatment with sulphonamides are recommended.
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kahraman
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Genctoy
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arici
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cetinkaya
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Altun
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caglar
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001170:Arthritis, Infectious / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009617:Nocardia Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009616:Nocardia asteroides; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents