Neurosurgical management of multiple intracranial Nocardia and Enterococcus abscesses in an immunocompetent patient

Cerebral Abscess Infected by Nocardia gipuzkoensis

Purpose

Nocardia gipuzkoensis is a novel species that solely identified in patients with pulmonary infections by far. Growing evidence showed the excellent performance of metagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS) on pathogenic identification, especially for new species. Here, we described the first case of an elderly female patient suddenly suffering from neurological disorders owing to N. gipuzkoensis infection. And linezolid could effectively treat N. gipuzkoensis infection.

Patients and Methods

The results of imaging, laboratory cultures, and mNGS, as well as therapeutic process are shared.

Results

An elderly female patient suddenly suffered from neurological disorders with dysphasia and right limb trembles under no obvious causes. Subsequently, she was diagnosed as intracranial space-occupying lesions by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The isolate from brain secretion was further identified as N. gipuzkoensis through mNGS. The targeted therapy with linezolid according to the antimicrobial susceptibility was used to treat cerebral abscess induced by N. gipuzkoensis. During the follow-up, no relapse was observed for the patient after surgery for 104 days.

Conclusion

Cerebral abscess induced by N. gipuzkoensis is rare disorder with high mortality. mNGS has been identified as a promising tool in pathogen diagnosis for timely therapy. Linezolid as one of the antimicrobial drugs could effectively treat N. gipuzkoensis infection and prevent adverse outcomes.

Nocardia farcinica Brain Abscess in an Immunocompetent Host With Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

A 55-year-old immunocompetent male presented with new-onset seizures and acute respiratory failure requiring intubation and a stay in the medical intensive care unit. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed ring-enhancing lesions, and Computed Tomography (CT) chest showed ground-glass opacity. The patient underwent craniotomy and bronchoscopy, followed by culture of the purulent aspirate from lesions in the brain and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). After extensive infectious workup, the patient was diagnosed with a Nocardia farcinica brain abscess plus underlying pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP). Based on a recommendation from an infectious disease expert, the patient was treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX).

This case highlights the importance of understanding that, though rare, infections such as nocardiosis can present in immunocompetent patients and cause severe morbidity.