trimethoprim--sulfamethoxazole-drug-combination and Myasthenia-Gravis

Nocardiosis is a rare infection in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). We identified three cases of MG admitted with nocardiosis in our unit. We performed systematic literature search of previous publications and identified 18 patients. This paper presents three patients and reviews the clinical characteristics of 21 patients. The first case was a 69-year-old woman with thymomatous MG who presented with pustules and left lower limb pain. Evaluation showed osteomyelitis of the pubic ramus and ileopsoas abscess. The second case was a 54-year-old man who presented in myasthenic crisis due to pulmonary nocardiosis. The third case was a 48-year-old man with thymomatous MG who presented with lung abscess. All of them recovered completely after treatment with co-trimoxazole. Analysis of the 21 patients identified four risk factors for nocardiosis in MG: elderly men; thymoma; immunosuppressant medication, mainly steroid therapy; and pre-existing lung disease. Lungs was the most common site of infection. Suppurative disease was common manifestation regardless of organ involved. Clinical course is not unfavourable.

Topics: Aged; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Myasthenia Gravis; Nocardia Infections; Rare Diseases; Treatment Outcome; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination

Topics: Biopsy, Needle; Drug Therapy, Combination; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Immunocompromised Host; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes; Lung Neoplasms; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Meropenem; Middle Aged; Myasthenia Gravis; Nocardia; Nocardia Infections; Opportunistic Infections; Radiography, Thoracic; Risk Assessment; Severity of Illness Index; Syndrome; Thienamycins; Thymoma; Thymus Neoplasms; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Treatment Outcome; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination

Cutaneous nocardiosis, which usually manifests in the form of pustules, abscesses, or subcutaneous nodules, is occasionally found in immunocompromised patients. A 59-yr-old Korean man with myasthenia gravis and thymoma developed nodular skin lesions on his trunk. Histopathologically, abscess formation with a dense infiltrate of neutrophils and many cytophagic histiocytes were observed. Numerous filamentous organisms, which turned out to be Nocardia asteroides by culture, were also found. After sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim therapy, all of the skin lesions rapidly decreased in size, with a marked diminution of the number of cytophagic histiocytes, and cleared up within four months. On reporting a case of cutaneous nocardiosis showing unusual histopathologic findings, we considered that reactive conditions should be included in the differential diagnosis of the cutaneous cytophagocytosis, and that nocardiosis could be one of the diseases showing reactive cytophagocytosis.

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Histiocytes; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Myasthenia Gravis; Neutrophils; Nocardia asteroides; Nocardia Infections; Phagocytosis; Skin Diseases, Bacterial; Thymoma; Thymus Neoplasms; Treatment Outcome; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination