Nocardia brain abscess in an immunocompetent patient

Infect Chemother. 2014 Mar;46(1):45-9. doi: 10.3947/ic.2014.46.1.45. Epub 2014 Mar 21.

Abstract

Nocardia cerebral abscess is rare, constituting approximately 1-2% of all cerebral abscesses. Mortality for a cerebral abscess of Nocardia is three times higher than that of other bacterial cerebral abscesses, therefore, early diagnosis and therapy is important. Nocardia cerebral abscess is generally occur among immunocompromised patients, and critical infection in immunocompetent patients is extremely rare. We report on a case of a brain abscess by Nocardia farcinica in an immunocompetent patient who received treatment with surgery and antibiotics. This is the second case of a brain abscess caused by N. farcinica in an immunocompetent patient in Korea.

Keywords: Brain abscess; Immunocompetence; Nocardia infections.