Disseminated Nocardia caviae with positive blood cultures

D. L. Petersen, L. D. Hudson and K. Sullivan

Disseminated Nocardia caviae infection with multiple positive blood cultures occurred in a bone marrow transplant recipient. Positive blood cultures are unusual in disseminated Nocardia infections and N caviea is an unusual species of Nocardia to cause infections in man, although its virulence in laboratory animals is similar to N asteroides. Multiple positive blood cultures in this case suggest a continuous or recurrent bacteremia rather than a transient bacteremia as previously has been thought to occur in disseminated Nocardia infections. The marked immunosuppressed state of the patient and an indwelling venous line could also have accounted for the recurrent bacteremia.