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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Asian J Neurosurg 2019; 14(03): 952-956
DOI: 10.4103/ajns.AJNS_66_19
Case Report

Nocardia araoensis causing brain abscess

Shejoy Joshua
Department of Neurosurgery, Aster Medcity, Kochi, Kerala
,
Rachana Babu
1   Department of Microbiology, Aster Medcity, Kochi, Kerala
,
Anup Warrier
2   Department of Infectious Diseases, Aster Medcity, Kochi, Kerala
,
Dilip Panikar
Department of Neurosurgery, Aster Medcity, Kochi, Kerala
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Nocardial brain abscess is a rare central nervous system infection with high morbidity and mortality. Most of the human infections, i.e., about 90%, are due to Nocardia asteroides group comprising N. asteroides complex, Nocardia farcinica, and Nocardia nova. Other species rarely cause human infections. Here, we report a case of left parieto-occipital abscess caused by a rare species, Nocardia araoensis, its diagnosis, treatment options, and review of literature. A 73-year-old male, known case of diabetes mellitus, on prolonged oral corticosteroid for autoimmune hemolytic anemia presented with a 1-month history of memory deficit and gait imbalance. On examination, he had a right inferior quadrantanopia and hemiparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a multiloculated ring-enhancing lesion in the left parieto-occipital region. Navigation-assisted biopsy was done. The organism isolated was N. araoensis. He was treated successfully with prolonged course of antibiotics which resulted in complete clinical and radiological resolution. N. araoensis is a rare cause of brain abscess and needs to be suspected in immunocompromised individuals. Early diagnosis and prolonged treatment can result in complete clinical and radiological resolution.

Key-words:

Brain abscess - Nocardia araoensis - nocardiosis

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Publication History

Article published online:
09 September 2022

© 2019. Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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