Nocardiosis Cases with Internal Organ and Brain Involvement in Turkey

Abstract

Nocardia have a worldwide distribution in the environment. Nocardia enter the human body via inhalation and cause infection most commonly in the lungs, brain and skin tissue. Nocardiosis is seen especially in immunocompromised patients as an opportunistic infection. The aim of this study was to review nocardial cases with internal organ involvement reported from Turkey. The data of the cases, obtained from both the national and international journals, have been analyzed including underlying disease, infected organ, choice of treatment, prognosis and isolated strains. It was observed that nocardial cases have been increasingly reported and a total of 27 cases of nocardiosis have been reported for the last 27 years. The most frequently isolated strain has been found as Nocardia asteroides and the most frequently affected organ has been found as the lungs. Kidney transplantation was the primary predisposing factor for nocardiosis. As a conclusion, in Turkey, nocardiosis should always be kept in mind especially in immunocompromised patients and at least 2 antibiotics should be given for the treatment