Wu Cuiyun, Lu Jiehong, Yao Jie
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shunde Hospital, Southern Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Shunde), Foshan, China.
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shunde Hospital, Southern Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Shunde), Foshan, China.
Int J Infect Dis. 2023 May;130:73-75. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.02.026. Epub 2023 Mar 7.
Nocardia is a rare opportunistic pathogen that primarily affects the skin, lungs, and central nervous system. Intraocular infection caused by Nocardia species is a rare event in individuals who are immunocompetent. We herein present a case of a female individual who is immunocompetent, with a left eye injury caused by a contaminated nail. Unfortunately, this exposure history was not recognized at the initial visit, which led to a delay in diagnosis and the eventual development of intraocular infections with multiple hospital admissions in a short period of patients. A definitive diagnosis of Nocardia brasiliensis by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. With the original intention of reporting the case, we hope that physicians should be aware of rare pathogen infections, especially when conventional antibiotic therapy is ineffective, to avoid untimely treatment and poor prognosis. Furthermore, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry or next-generation sequencing should be considered as new techniques for identifying pathogens.
诺卡菌是一种罕见的机会致病菌，主要影响皮肤、肺部和中枢神经系统。在免疫功能正常的个体中，由诺卡菌属引起的眼内感染是罕见事件。我们在此报告一例免疫功能正常的女性病例，其左眼因被污染的指甲受伤。不幸的是，在初次就诊时未认识到这一暴露史，这导致诊断延迟，患者在短期内多次住院，最终发生眼内感染。通过基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱法明确诊断为巴西诺卡菌。出于报告该病例的初衷，我们希望医生应意识到罕见病原体感染，尤其是在传统抗生素治疗无效时，以避免治疗不及时和预后不良。此外，应将基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱法或下一代测序视为鉴定病原体的新技术。
