Clinical characteristics and causes analysis of pulmonary nocardiosis misdiagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis in 18 patients
- Author:
LIU Xiaojin
;
WANG Dongchang
;
ZHANG Xun
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Pulmonary nocardiosis;
pulmonary tuberculosis;
misdiagnosis;
underlying disease;
weak acid-fast staining
- From:
China Tropical Medicine
2024;24(12):1552-
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of pulmonary nocardiosis misdiagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis and the causes of misdiagnosis, aiming to improve the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Methods Clinical data were collected from 18 cases of pulmonary nocardiosis misdiagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis admitted to Beijing Chest Hospital (1 case), Hebei Chest Hospital (15 cases), the 5th Hospital of Shijiazhuang (1 case), and the 1st Hospital of Xinji (1 case) from October 2018 to June 2024, and the clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, imaging, treatment process, disease outcomes, and the causes of misdiagnosis were retrospectively analyzed. Results Among the 18 patients, there were 10 males and 8 females, with a median age of (59±14) years. All of the cases had the common clinical manifestations of cough and sputum. Seventeen cases had underlying disease, including 1 case with AIDS, 1 case with diabetes, 2 cases with obsolete pulmonary tuberculosis, 2 cases with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 14 cases with bronchiectasis. Sputum or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from 18 patients were cultured positive on Columbia blood plates, Roche medium, or MGIT 960, identifying 11 cases of Nocardia farcinica, 1 case of Nocardia otitidiscaviarum, and 6 cases of Nocardia cyriacigeorgica. All of the 18 patients received treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, 14 in 18 receiving combination therapy, resulting in 8 cures, 8 improvements, and 2 deaths. The reasons for misdiagnosis included: When an infectious disease in patients with long-term expectoration could not be controlled initially, the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis would often be made clinically, and the patients would be given anti-tuberculosis therapy; insufficient understanding of the knowledge of Nocardia by laboratory physicians and doctors; the laboratory physicians neglected the importance of the judgment of Nocardia morphology by Gram staining; the bacterial culture period was usually 48 hours, while Nocardia grew slowly, resulting in missed detections; MGIT 960 culture and Roche culture had long cultivation period, which could increase the positive rate of Nocardia, but fewer units were carrying out such cultivation; insufficient understanding of the morphology differences between cultured Nocardia and Nocardia in the original specimen resulted in misjudgment. Conclusions Pulmonary nocardiosis is easily misdiagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis. For patients, who have long-term expectoration, with hypoimmunity, or diseases that damage the lung structure such as bronchiectasis, if the response of conventional treatment is poor, Nocardia infection should be considered; Medical staff should enhance their understanding of Nocardia and pay more attention to the microscopic examination of Gram staining, weak acid-fast staining, and culture of sputum; Timely treatment following the diagnosis of nocardiosis can significantly improve the prognosis.
- Full text:202511131534155082020.Clinical characteristics and causes analysis of pulmonary nocardiosis misdiagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis in 18 patients.pdf
