Patients after lung transplantation are at risk for Nocardia infections. We herein report a case of lung and cerebral nocardiosis caused by Nocardia elegans, a rare species of Nocardia, in a lung transplant recipient. Antibiotic therapy, including sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (ST), and brain abscess drainage improved symptoms and imaging findings. A literature review of N. elegans infections showed that 12 of 14 cases (85.7%) were reported from East Asia, particularly Japan (9 cases, 64.2%). The lungs were the predominant site (12/14 cases, 85.7%), and most of the cases were susceptible to ST (9/10 cases, 90%).
Keywords: Nocardia elegans; brain abscess; lung and cerebral nocardiosis; lung transplant; mass spectrometry.