Case report of disseminated nocardiosis complicated in an elderly person with pneumoconiosis

Abstract

Nocardia is typically regarded as an opportunistic infection, with pulmonary nocardiosis frequently disseminated to organs hematogenous by, and nearly half of these cases resulting in complicated nocardia brain abscess. Disseminated nocardia has a dismal prognosis with high mortality, and should be checked for multiple organs including the brain when nocardiosis is diagnosed. We describe the successful treatment of nocardia brain abscesses in an immunocompetent older people with pneumoconiosis by combining trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin. Patients had no history of fever, headache, or respiratory symptoms such as cough, or sputum until the acute hemiplegia episode. Nocardia infection is not as rare as generally assumed and should be considered as a possibility in the elderly due to its high mortality.