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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Arquivos Brasileiros de Neurocirurgia: Brazilian Neurosurgery 2021; 40(03): e280-e283
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1719124
Case Report | Relato de Caso

Brain Abscess Caused by Nocardia: Case Report and Literature Review

Abscesso Cerebral causado por Nocardia: Relato de Caso e Revisāo da Literatura
Guilherme Finger 
1   Neurosurgery Department, Hospital Cristo Redentor, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
,
Maria Eduarda Conte Gripa 
2   Universidade Luterana do Brasil, Canoas, RS, Brazil
,
Tiago Paczko Bozko Cecchini 
2   Universidade Luterana do Brasil, Canoas, RS, Brazil
,
Tobias Ludwig do Nascimento 
1   Neurosurgery Department, Hospital Cristo Redentor, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
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Abstract

Nocardia brain abscess is a rare clinical entity, accounting for 2% of all brain abscesses, associated with high morbidity and a mortality rate 3 times higher than brain abscesses caused by other bacteria. Proper investigation and treatment, characterized by a long-term antibiotic therapy, play an important role on the outcome of the patient. The authors describe a case of a patient without neurological comorbidities who developed clinical signs of right occipital lobe impairment and seizures, whose investigation demonstrated brain abscess caused by Nocardia spp. The patient was treated surgically followed by antibiotic therapy with a great outcome after 1 year of follow-up.

Resumo

Abscesso cerebral por Nocardia é uma entidade rara, correspondendo a 2% dos abscessos cerebrais. Quando comparada a abscessos causados por outras bactérias, apresenta morbimortalidade 3 vezes maior. Adequada investigação e tratamento, caracterizado por antibioticoterapia prolongada, são cruciais para desfecho favorável dos pacientes. Os autores descrevem um caso de uma paciente sem comorbidades neurológicas prévias que apresentou sinais de comprometimento do lobo occipital direito e crises convulsivas, cuja investigação demonstrou tratar-se de abscesso cerebral por Nocardia spp. A paciente foi tratada cirurgicamente seguida de antibioticoterapia prolongada, com ótima evolução ao longo de 1 ano de acompanhamento.

Keywords

brain abscess - nocardia - infection

Palavras-chave

abscesso cerebral - nocardia - infecçāo

Note

The patient has consented to the submission of the case report to the journal.




Publication History

Received: 25 August 2020

Accepted: 25 September 2020

Article published online:
26 November 2020

© 2020. Sociedade Brasileira de Neurocirurgia. 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 commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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