Case report: Nocardial brain abscess in a persistently SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive patient with systemic lupus erythematosus

Jelena Veličković; Tatjana Adžić Vukičević; Aleksandra Radovanović Spurnić; Igor Lazić; Bojana Popović; Ivan Bogdanović; Savo Raičević; Dragana Marić; Ivana Berisavac

doi:10.3389/fmed.2022.973817

Case report: Nocardial brain abscess in a persistently SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive patient with systemic lupus erythematosus

Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Aug 18:9:973817. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.973817. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jelena Veličković^{1

2}, Tatjana Adžić Vukičević^{1

2}, Aleksandra Radovanović Spurnić^{1

2}, Igor Lazić³, Bojana Popović^{1

2}, Ivan Bogdanović^{2

3}, Savo Raičević³, Dragana Marić^{2

4}, Ivana Berisavac^{2

5}

Affiliations

¹ COVID Hospital Batajnica, University Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
² School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
³ Clinic for Neurosurgery, University Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
⁴ Clinic for Pulmonology, University Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
⁵ Clinic for Neurology, University Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in immunocompromised patients represents a major challenge for diagnostics, surveillance, and treatment. Some individuals remain SARS-CoV-2 PCR-positive for a prolonged period. The clinical and epidemiological significance of this phenomenon is not well understood. We report a case of a patient with a history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who has been persistently SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive for 9 months, with multiple thromboembolic complications, and development of nocardial brain abscess successfully treated with surgery and antibiotics.

Keywords: COVID-19; Nocardia; SARS-CoV-2; brain abscess; immunosuppression; systemic lupus erythematosus.

Publication types

Case Reports