Mixed infection of Nocardia farcinica and Nocardia cyriacigeorgica in an immunocompromised patient: A case report

Rationale: Nocardia is a soil saprophyte, which can cause disseminated infection in immunocompromised patients. Early diagnosis and treatment can greatly improve prognosis. Patient concern: A 26-year-old male presented with repeated episodes of fever, cough and breathlessness for 3 months. Diagnosis...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Vrushali Harsh Thakar, Prajakta Jadhav, Aishwarya Babu, Mahadevan Kumar, Abhijeet Kantilal Mane
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2024-11-01
Series:Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/apjtm.apjtm_39_24
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Rationale: Nocardia is a soil saprophyte, which can cause disseminated infection in immunocompromised patients. Early diagnosis and treatment can greatly improve prognosis. Patient concern: A 26-year-old male presented with repeated episodes of fever, cough and breathlessness for 3 months. Diagnosis: Mixed infection of Nocardia (N.) farcinica and N. cyriacigeorgica with diabetes and Cushing’s syndrome. Interventions: N. cyriacigeorgica was isolated from empyema fluid and N. farcinica from blood. Based on antimicrobial susceptibility, he was treated with imipenem, cotrimoxazole and amikacin. Outcome: Patient expired due to infection and delayed diagnosis. Lesson: Several cases of infection due to N. farcinica or N. cyriacigeorgica have been reported. But mixed infection caused by these two species is rare. Pulmonary and disseminated nocardiosis is associated with high mortality, especially in immunocompromised hosts. So early diagnosis and prompt treatment is needed.
ISSN:2352-4146