Disseminated Cerebral and Intradural Extramedullary Spinal Nocardiosis in an Immunocompetent Patient
  • Meenal Sharma
    Department of Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • Chris Anthony
    St Vincents Hospital Sydney
  • Charlie Chia-Tsong Hsu
    Department of Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • Catriona Maclean
    Department of Anatomical Pathology, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • Niki Martens
    Department of Neurosurgery, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Keywords

Nocardiosis, immunocompetent, central nervous system, spinal cord, magnetic resonance imaging.

Abstract

Disseminated nocardiosis of the central nervous system (CNS) has been rarely reported, especially in the immunocompetent patient. We report a case of cerebral and cervical intradural extramedullary nocardiosis likely to have been the result of disseminated spread from a pulmonary infective focus. Attempts at tissue biopsy and culture of the initial cerebral and pulmonary lesions both failed to yield the diagnosis.
Interval development of a symptomatic intradural extramedullary cervical lesion resulted in open biopsy and an eventual diagnosis of nocardiosis was made.

We highlight the diagnostic dilemma and rarity of spinal nocardial dissemination in an immunocompetent individual.

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    Published: 2015-07-02
    Issue: Vol. 2 No. 4 (2015) (view)

    How to cite:
    1.
    Sharma M, Anthony C, Hsu CC-T, Maclean C, Martens N. Disseminated Cerebral and Intradural Extramedullary Spinal Nocardiosis in an Immunocompetent Patient. EJCRIM 2015;2 doi:10.12890/2015_000207.