Korean J Med.  2007 Sep;73(3):342-345.

A case of primary cutaneous nocardiosis in a patient with lung cancer

• Chang WI
• Kim SJ
• Kim YC
• Kwon KT
• Oh WS
• Peck KR
• Song JH

Abstract

Nocardiosis is a rare opportunistic bacterial infection. The majority of nocardial infections are acquired through inhalation and smaller numbers of cutaneous nocardiosis are caused by traumatic inoculation of organisms percutaneously. We experienced a patient with lung cancer that developed a primary cutaneous nocardiosis. A 57-year-old man was admitted to the Samsung Medical Center because of a painful swelling lesion of the right foot that developed 3 weeks prior. Three months prior, the patient had been diagnosed with a non-small cell lung cancer, and then underwent palliative bronchial stent insertion, radiation therapy and corticosteroid treatment for an obstructive endobronchial lesion. Incision and drainage was performed as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the foot showed an abscess cavity. Nocardia was isolated from the pus. The antibiotic therapy was changed to oral trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) treatment. The skin lesion was improving and the patient was discharged 20 days later. TMP/SMX was continued for a total of three months. The patient has been in good health and the skin lesion had completely healed two months after discharge.

Keyword

Nocardia; Lung cancer; Skin

MeSH Terms

Abscess
Bacterial Infections
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung
Drainage
Foot
Humans
Inhalation
Lung Neoplasms*
Lung*
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Middle Aged
Nocardia
Nocardia Infections*
Skin
Stents
Sulfamethoxazole
Suppuration
Sulfamethoxazole