Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2008 Jun;20(2):82-5.
doi: 10.5021/ad.2008.20.2.82. Epub 2008 Jun 30.

A Case of Disseminated Nocardiosis Secondary to the Skin Nodules in an Elderly Woman

Seung Gyun In  1 , Sung Hyup Han  1 , Jeong Hyun Shin  1 , Gwang Seong Choi  1 , Moon Hyun Chung  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

A Case of Disseminated Nocardiosis Secondary to the Skin Nodules in an Elderly Woman

Seung Gyun In et al. Ann Dermatol. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

Nocardiosis refers to a locally invasive or disseminated infection associated with the Nocardia species. Most infections enter through the respiratory tract and then disseminate systemically. Rarely can a primary nocardial infection of the skin spread to contiguous structures or disseminate to other internal organs in immunocompromised hosts. We describe a 70-year-old woman who suffered from recurrent nodular skin lesions on her right hand, forearm and elbow following inoculation of a traumatic injury. Analysis of the purulent exudates obtained from the nodule revealed Nocardia species. After 20 days, a chest X-ray showed newly developed multiple nodules in both lungs. The diagnosis of systemic nocardiosis was established, and we treated this case with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.

Keywords: Disseminated nocardiosis; Nocardia; Nocardiosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Multiple erythematous nodules on the right forearm (A) and the dorsum of hand (B).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Granulomatous inflammation with central suppurative inflammation (A: H&E, ×40; B: H&E, ×400).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Newly developed multiple nodules in both lungs.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. (A) Whitish, wrinkled, heaped up colonies on potato dextrose agar plate cultured for 43 days. (B) Gram stain showed gram-positive branching organisms (×100).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kalb RE, Kaplan MH, Grossman ME. Cutaneous nocardiosis. Case reports and review. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1985;13:125–133. - PubMed
    1. Karakayali G, Karaarslan A, Artuz F, Alli N, Tekeli A. Primary cutaneous Nocardia asteroides. Br J Dermatol. 1998;139:919–920. - PubMed
    1. Lee SH, Suh CW, Choi JH, Sung KJ. A case of primary cutaneous sporotrichoid nocardiosis caused by Nocardia asteroides. Ann Dermatol. 1999;11:90–93.
    1. Aydingoz IE, Candan I, Dervent B, Hitit G. Primary cutaneous nocardiosis associated with intra-articular corticosteroid injection. Int J Dermatol. 2001;40:196–198. - PubMed
    1. George SJ, Rivera AM, Hsu S. Disseminated cutaneous nocardiosis mimicking cellulitis and erythema nodosum. Dermatol Online J. 2006;12:13. - PubMed

Publication types