Brain Abscess Caused by Nocardia Thailandica Infection in SLE Patient

A brain abscess was found in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus who had been receiving steroids for a long time. An actinomycete suspected to belong to the genus Nocardia was detected in the abscess, and a brain abscess caused by Nocardia thailandica (N. Thailandica) was diagnosed using matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). He died during the course of treatment and his organs were examined by autopsy. N. thailandica was not detected, so it was concluded that the bacterial death due to long-term administration of antibiotics was the cause of death. N. thailandica is a very rare bacterium belonging to Nocardia asteroids, and is said to easily form brain lesions. In immunocompromised patients, prophylaxis with antibiotics and detailed examination of lung lesions for surveillance were considered necessary. This paper is the first report of a brain abscess caused by Nocardia thailandica (N. thailandica), including a review of the literature.