Treatment of Nocardia infections continues to be difficult, especially for central nervous system infections or disseminated diseases and when sustained by highly drug-resistant species such as Nocardia farcinica. Linezolid, the first oxazolidinone approved for clinical use, shows an excellent in vitro activity against all species of Nocardia, and achieves good central nervous system and lung concentrations. We describe the case of a patient with pulmonary nocardiosis and intolerance to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole successfully treated with linezolid, and review all the published cases of systemic nocardiosis treated with this agent. On the basis of the available evidence, linezolid appears an effective option for the treatment of nocardiosis
