Disseminated Nocardia transvalensis infection with osteomyelitis and multiple brain abscesses.

A case of Nocardia transvalensis osteomyelitis and cerebral abscesses is described. To the authors' knowledge, the patient described here represents the first reported case of primary N. transvalensis leg abscess with contiguous osteomyelitis of the femur and secondary brain abscesses. The literature on nocardial osteomyelitis and cerebral nocardiosis is reviewed, and treatment of both conditions is discussed. The interactions between the immune system and nocardial organisms are described, as well as the host defense defects in diabetic patients as they relate to pathogenicity of the bacteria. Finally, the patient's paradoxical therapeutic response of resolving brain abscesses with concomitant unresolving osteomyelitis is discussed, as well as its implications for managing similar cases in the future.

Delayed-onset mycobacterial keratitis after LASIK.

PURPOSE: To describe the time course, diagnosis, clinical features, and treatment of seven patients with Mycobacterium szulgai keratitis that developed from 7 to 24 weeks after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). METHODS: Seven of 30 eyes of 18 patients were identified with keratitis after LASIK. The first two patients presented 12 to 14 weeks after LASIK; nontuberculous mycobacteria were identified 1 month after the flaps were cultured. Patient recall identified three additional cases by culture and two cases by clinical features alone. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to type the isolates, and treatment was modified based on susceptibilities. RESULTS: M. szulgai was identified in five patients for whom cultures were performed, but response to empiric therapy based on cultures proved unsatisfactory. The keratitis resolved in all patients with treatment including clarithromycin based on susceptibilities. Medical therapy was sufficient, although one patient required flap amputation. Six of seven patients recovered best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), while one patient lost one line of BCVA. Two patients lost one line of postoperative uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), two patients gained one line of UCVA, and three patients recovered postoperative UCVA. PFGE analysis revealed that the M. szulgai strains were identical, and the infection source was contaminated ice used to chill syringes for saline lavage. CONCLUSIONS: Nontuberculous mycobacterial keratitis after LASIK is a diagnostic and management challenge, but outcomes can be preserved with treatment based on susceptibilities. This cluster underscores the importance of adherence to sterile protocol during LASIK.

A Cluster of cases of Mycobacterium szulgai keratitis that occurred after laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis.

Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is a recently developed ophthalmic procedure. When 2 patients developed keratitis caused by Mycobacterium szulgai after they underwent LASIK surgery, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of all LASIK procedures performed at Scott & White Clinic (Temple, Texas) during a 4.5-month period. Seven patients had compatible symptoms and signs, 5 of whom had confirmed M. szulgai keratitis. Five cases occurred among 30 procedures performed by doctor A, and there were no cases among 62 procedures performed by doctor B (approximate relative risk, 12.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-679.0; P=.0029). Doctor A had chilled syringes of saline solution in ice for intraoperative lavage-the only factor that differentiated the procedures of the 2 surgeons. Cultures of samples from the source ice machine's drain identified M. szulgai; the strain was identical to isolates recovered from all confirmed cases and differed from 4 standard M. szulgai strains, as determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Intraoperative contamination from ice water apparently led to M. szulgai keratitis in these patients.