Nocardiosis in a tertiary care hospital on the island of Gran Canaria

Background: Nocardiosis is an uncommon but serious infection increasingly found in immunosuppressed persons. We describe 14 cases of nocardial infection seen at a tertiary hospital. Methods: All positive Nocardia cultures isolated from 1991 to 2002 were included. We analyzed predisposing factors, epidemiological and clinical features, laboratory and radiological findings, site(s) of infection, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, treatment, and outcome. Factors related to mortality were analyzed. Results: Nineteen patients with a Nocardia isolate were identified and 14 were finally included. The most common predisposing factors included pulmonary diseases (71.4%), diabetes mellitus (35.7%), systemic diseases (28.6%) and immunosuppressive therapy (28.6%). The site of infection was pulmonary in 12 cases (85.71%), cutaneous or subcutaneous in one case (7.1%), and disseminated in another case (7.1%). The predominant clinical symptom was purulent expectoration (71.4%) while the predominant radiological pattern was a reticulonodular infiltrate (6/12, 50%). Relapse was observed in one case (7.7%) and death in three cases (23.1%). Diabetes mellitus was associated with the mortality rate (p=0.035). Treatment was highly individualized, but trimethoprim (TMP)-sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was the combination most often used. Conclusions: Nocardiosis should be part of the differential diagnosis for patients presenting with pulmonary symptoms, soft tissue infection, or brain abscess.