title: [Pulmonary nocardiosis with elevation of serum beta-D-glucan in a patient with polymyositis].
abstract: A 73-year-old woman with polymyositis, who had received corticosteroids and immune-suppressive agents, was admitted to our hospital because of general fatigue and severe cough. Chest X-ray film and CT scan showed a large tumor shadow in the left upper lobe and several ground-glass opacities (GGOs) scattered in both lungs. As the white blood cell and C-reactive protein levels were elevated, pnueumonia was suspected and antibiotics were administered. Subsequently, Nocardia spp. was cultured from the sputum and pulmonary nocardiosis was established. She gradually recovered after sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (ST) administration. The pretreatment serum beta-D-glucan level was highly elevated and decreased in parallel with clinical feature. In general, ST should be administered for 6 months to treat pulmonary nocardiosis in a compromised host. It is possible that P3-D-glucan may be a useful marker to treat pulmonary nocardiosis in patients with polymyositis.
authors: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Maebashi Red Cross Hospital.
authors: Yutaka
authors: Y
authors: Hashizume
authors: Atsushi
authors: A
authors: Takise
authors: Tadayoshi
authors: T
authors: Kawata
authors: Kuniaki
authors: K
authors: Suzuki
authors: Katsuaki
authors: K
authors: Endou
authors: Takeo
authors: T
authors: Horie
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D009617:Nocardia Infections / Q000097:blood*; D017285:Polymyositis / Q000150:complications*; D047071:beta-Glucans / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D047071:beta-Glucans