Authors
- Seyedeh Zeinab Seyyed-Yousef 1
- Mehdi Fatahi-Bafghi 2
- Seyyed Saeed Eshraghi 3
- Bagher Hoseini 4
- Shadi Habibnia 5
- Masoumeh Rasouli-Nasab 6
- Parvin Heidarieh 7
1 Postgraduate Student of Microbiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
3 Professor, Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Pathologist, Iran Eye Bank, Tehran, Iran
5 Ph.D. Candidate of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
6 Ph.D. Candidate of Microbiology, Psteur Insititute, Tehran, Iran
7 Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Department of Bacteriology & Virology, School of Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran
Abstract
Background & Aims: Nocardia asteroides is gram-positive, partially acid-fast, aerobic actinomycetes which cause a wide range of skin infections, and pulmonary, cerebral, and ocular infection. Case Presentation: A 60-year-old man with diabetes presented with ocular ulcers in 2015. Through the medical records evaluation, physical examination, and biochemical evaluation of the patient, Nocardia asteroides complex was identified as the cause of infection. The patient was treated with amikacin and ciprofloxacin, and recovery was obtained and the patient was placed on the waiting list for corneal transplantation. Conclusion: Diagnosis of keratitis caused by Nocardia asteroides is difficult and it may be misdiagnosed due similarities with keratitis caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Therefore, suitable diagnosis methods and early diagnosis of ocular nocardiosis are necessary. In the present study, Nocardia asteroides complex was isolated from a corneal ulceration.
Keywords
- Fatahi Bafghi M, Heidarieh P, Habibnia S, Rasoulinasab M, Kalantar Neyestanaki D, Afshar D, et al. Phenotypic and Molecular Properties of the Nocardia species. Avicenna J Clin Microb Infec 2014; 1(1): e19215.
- Bafghi MF, Heidarieh P, Soori T, Saber S, Meysamie A, Gheitoli K, et al. Nocardia isolation from clinical samples with the paraffin baiting technique. Germs 2015; 5(1): 12-6.
- Beaman BL, Saubolle MA, Wallace RJ. Nocardia, rhodococcus, Streptomyces oerskovia, and other aerobic actinomycetes of medical importance. In: Murray P, Editor. Manual of clinical microbiology. 6th ed. Washington, D.C: Amer Society for Microbiology; 1995. p. 379-99.
- Lopez MR, Mendez Tovar LJ, Lavalle P, Welsh O, Saul A, Macotela RE. [Epidemiology of mycetoma in Mexico: study of 2105 cases]. Gac Med Mex 1992; 128(4): 477-81.
- Perez-Santonja JJ, Sakla HF, Abad JL, Zorraquino A, Esteban J, Alio JL. Nocardial keratitis after laser in situ keratomileusis. J Refract Surg 1997; 13(3): 314-7.
- Mishra SK, Gordon RE, Barnett DA. Identification of nocardiae and streptomycetes of medical importance. J Clin Microbiol 1980; 11(6): 728-36.
- Gordon RE, Mishra SK, Barnett DA. Some bits and pieces of the genus Nocardia: N. carnea, N. vaccinii, N. transvalensis, N. orientalis and N. aerocolonigenes. J Gen Microbiol 1978; 109(1): 69-78.
- Fatahi Bafghi M, Sori T, Heidarieh P, Rasolinasab M, Habibnia S, Eshraghi S. Isolation and phenotypic identification of Nocardia nova complex of breast abscess in a patient with pemphigus vulgaris: the first report from Iran. Iran J Breast Dis 2012; 5(2-3): 44-9. [In Persian].
- Gordon R, Barnett DA, Handerhan JE, Pang CH. Nocardia coeliaca, Nocardia autotrophica, and the Nocardin Strain. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 1974; 24(1): 54-63.
- Rasoulinasab M, Habibnia S, Heidarieh P, Fatahi Bafghi M, Pourmand MR, Eshraghi SS. Identification of nocardia species isolated from soil samples of the city of Tehran, Iran, using phenotypic tests. J Isfahan Med Sch 2013; 31(265): 45-54. [In Persian].
- Matulionyte R, Rohner P, Uckay I, Lew D, Garbino J. Secular trends of nocardia infection over 15 years in a tertiary care hospital. J Clin Pathol 2004; 57(8): 807-12.
)