Disseminated Nocardia brasiliensis infection

Abstract

We report a 40-year-old man with advanced Hodgkin disease who received combination chemotherapy and developed disseminated Nocardia brasiliensis infection. We discuss opportunistic infections in the compromised host, with particular reference to nocardial disease and certain biologic characteristics of that organism.

Actinomycetoma with systemic features: A warning sign for immunosuppression?

“…We report a case of actinomycetoma with systemic signs, which lead us to investigate an underlying immunosuppression, since such signs are uncommon in this deep and usually localized infection. A literature search of PubMed with the keywords "nocardiosis" and "lymphoma" resulted in 115 articles, of which 10 were cases of primary cutaneous nocardiosis related to hematological malignancies (Table 1) [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Most cases were reported from the United States; all presented Nocardia spp.…”

Nocardia species: host-parasite relationships

“…In humans, at least six basic forms of disease may be recognized following Nocardia infection: (i) pulmonary nocardiosis (2,7,32,38,134,190,237,287,350,356,393); (ii) systemic nocardiosis (involving two or more body sites) (15,22,36,51,165,166,202,220,319,330,357); (iii) CNS nocardiosis (43,44,50,52,133,138,142,153,184,194,198,219,309,310), (iv) extrapulmonary nocardiosis (3,23,48,137,147,180,216,234,259,317); (v) cutaneous, subcutaneous, and lymphocutaneous (sporotrichoid) nocardiosis (12, 47, 101, 123, 269, 293,…”

“…Of these CNS infections, 42% (100 of 238) occurred in previously healthy individuals with no identifiable predisposing factor (1, 4, 5, 8, 19, 22, 26, 31, 32, 34, 36-40, 43, 44, 50, 51, 102, 106, 109, 112, 121, 132, 133, 135, 138, 144, 152, 153, 159, 165, 166, 178, 179, 181, 192, 196, 198, 201, 203, 215, 228, 231, 233, 238, 239, 253, 255, 264, 267, 271, 276, 288, 292, 294, 298, 299, 301, 304, 308, 310, 314, 320, 323, 327, 330, 341, 342, 344, 357, 361, 364, 365, 168-171, 175-183, 186-188, 190-198, 201-204, 206, 207, 213-220, 222, 224, 225, 228, 231-239, 241, 247-255, 257-262, 264, (357,528,562,582). Thus, the signs and symptoms expressed following brain infection are variable, and there may not be any outward neurologic manifestations (357,528,562,582). The lesions in the brain may be recognized as either granulomata with giant cells (228,712) or, more frequently, abscesses in any location within the brain (Fig.…”

Nocardia species: host-parasite relationships.

“…In humans, at least six basic forms of disease may be recognized following Nocardia infection: (i) pulmonary nocardiosis (2,7,32,38,134,190,237,287,350,356,393); (ii) systemic nocardiosis (involving two or more body sites) (15,22,36,51,165,166,202,220,319,330,357); (iii) CNS nocardiosis (43,44,50,52,133,138,142,153,184,194,198,219,309,310), (iv) extrapulmonary nocardiosis (3,23,48,137,147,180,216,234,259,317); (v) cutaneous, subcutaneous, and lymphocutaneous (sporotrichoid) nocardiosis (12,47,…”

“…can invade the brain silently and persist as an inapparent infection (357,528,562,582). Thus, the signs and symptoms expressed following brain infection are variable, and there may not be any outward neurologic manifestations (357,528,562,582). The lesions in the brain may be recognized as either granulomata with giant cells (228,712) or, more frequently, abscesses in any location within the brain (Fig.…”