Case Report

A Case Report of a Forehead Abscess Caused by Nocardia concava in a Patient with AIDS

DOI:

10.3791/70760

⸱

March 27th, 2026

In This Article

Summary

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Here, we present a protocol for Nocardia infections in immunocompromised patients that integrates pus culture and MALDI-TOF MS. This combined approach enables rapid, accurate species identification, facilitates targeted antimicrobial therapy, and ultimately improves clinical outcomes in this high-risk patient population.

Abstract

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Nocardia species are obligate aerobic actinomycetes. Human nocardiosis typically occurs in immunocompromised hosts and most commonly manifests as primary suppurative pulmonary infection. Hematogenous dissemination can lead to extrapulmonary involvement, with the central nervous system being the most frequent secondary site, followed by skin and subcutaneous soft tissues; pericardium, lymph nodes, and joints are affected only rarely. A 50-year-old HIV-positive man was admitted with a 1-month history of oral blood blisters and ecchymoses of the extremities. A right forehead abscess that developed during hospitalization yielded pus that was identified as Nocardia concava by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Initial management included antiretroviral therapy, systemic glucocorticoids, and intravenous immunoglobulin; subsequent targeted antimicrobial therapy with linezolid plus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, instituted upon microbiological confirmation, resulted in clinical improvement and discharge. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of forehead abscess infection caused by N. concava in an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patient. Human infections due to this organism remain extremely rare. Moreover, the infection site in this case was not the commonly affected lung or central nervous system, typically involved in nocardiosis, which resulted in atypical clinical manifestations prone to missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis. In this case, precise etiological identification allowed for early definitive diagnosis and favorable clinical outcomes. This case underscores the importance of increased vigilance for rare Nocardia infections in severely immunocompromised patients. For unexplained skin and soft tissue abscesses, early etiological examination is critical, and targeted antimicrobial therapy based on drug susceptibility can significantly improve prognosis.

Introduction

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Nocardia species are aerobic actinomycetes widely distributed in the natural environment, commonly inhabiting soil and decaying organic matter. Although ubiquitously present in nature, they are typically absent from the human body and function as opportunistic pathogens. Most infections occur via inhalation1. Nocardiosis predominantly affects immunocompromised individuals, particularly those with impaired cell-mediated immunity, such as patients with malignancies, diabetes mellitus, HIV/AIDS, autoimmune diseases, solid organ transplant recipients, and individuals undergoing prolonged corticosteroid therapy2. Nev....

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Protocol

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The study protocols were approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of the College of Medicine, Zhejiang University. (Reference Number: IIT20240874A).

1. Patient assessment and initial evaluation

  1. A comprehensive medical history was obtained.
    1. One month prior to presentation, the patient developed oral blood blisters and ecchymoses of the extremities without any identifiable precipitating factors.
    2. The patient subsequently sought care at a local hospital, where Biktarvy was initiated as antiretroviral therapy, and thrombopoietic agents were administered; neverth....

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Results

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A 50-year-old HIV-positive male patient presented with generalized petechiae and ecchymoses, and oral herpes. After admission, he received empirical antiviral and thrombopoietic therapies. Physical examination revealed a right-forehead mass. Ultrasound-guided aspiration (Figure 1) was performed to obtain pus for laboratory examination. Gram staining results are shown in Figure 2, and acid-fast staining results are shown in Figure 4........

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Discussion

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Nocardia is an aerobic, Gram-positive bacterium classified within the phylum Actinobacteria, class Actinobacteria, subclass Actinobacteridae, order Actinomycetales, suborder Corynebacterineae, family Nocardiaceae, and genus Nocardia15. Over 100 species have been identified, with the most common pathogens in humans and animals being N.asteroides, N. brasiliensis, N. farcinica, and N. cyriacigeorgica

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Disclosures

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements

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The authors have no acknowledgments.

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Materials

List of materials used in this article
NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
5–10% CO2 IncubatorThermo Fisher Scientific20172416507
Acid Fast StainBaso20170094
Autof MS SeriesAutobio Diagnostics https://en.autobio.com.cn/Product/productDetail/fid/63/cid/2/id/145.html
Autof MS2000Autobio Diagnostics 20182400196
Formic acidAutobio Diagnostics 20140009
Gram StainBioMérieux20171067
α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acidAutobio Diagnostics 20140009

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Tags

Nocardia ConcavaForehead AbscessAIDS PatientImmunocompromised HostSkin AbscessNocardiosisMALDI TOF MS16S rRNA SequencingTargeted Antimicrobial TherapySoft Tissue Infection

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