title: Pulmonary nocardiosis associated with cerebral abscess successfully treated by co-trimoxazole: a case report.
abstract: Nocardiosis is an acute or chronic infectious disease caused by the soil-borne filamentous bacteria belonging to the genus Nocardia. The organisms opportunistically infect both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals. The lungs are the primary site of infection and brain abscess is, by far, the most common complication following nocardial metastasis from pulmonary lesions. Although surgical intervention must always be considered in the treatment of nocardial brain abscess, it can obviously be cured by antibiotic therapy alone. This report describes a case infected by Nocardia cyriacigeorgica. Identification of the infectious agent was achieved by conventional and semi-nested PCR techniques. A 55-year-old woman with fever was referred to the infect disclinic of Imam Khomeini hospital in Tehran and was hospitalized after clinical assessment. She was a kidney transplant recipient for 4 years and was taking immunosuppressive treatment including azathioprine and methylprednisolone. Follow-up of the patient by CT scan revealed pulmonary infection and cerebral lesions. Specimens of the brain lesions contained filamentous bacteria. The patient received a combination of co-trimoxazole and ceftriaxone and brain abscesses as well as lung inflammation disappeared gradually during the course of antibiotic therapy within 3 months. The patient was discharged from the hospital after 2 months of therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, eshraghs@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Seyyed Saeed
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Eshraghi
authors.forename: Siamak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heidarzadeh
authors.forename: Abdolreza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soodbakhsh
authors.forename: Mohammadreza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pourmand
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghasemi
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: GramiShoar
authors.forename: Ensieh
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zibafar
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aliramezani
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001922:Brain Abscess / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D007492:Iran; D008875:Middle Aged; D009615:Nocardia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009617:Nocardia Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D011859:Radiography; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination