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A French multicentric study and review of pulmonary Nocardia spp. in cystic fibrosis patients

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Abstract

Some bacterial species recovered from the airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are indisputably associated with lung infections, whereas the clinical relevance of others, such as Nocardia spp., remains unclear. Sixteen French CF cases of colonization/infection with Nocardia spp. were reviewed in order to evaluate the epidemiology, the clinical impact and the potential treatment of these bacteria, and results were compared to those of the literature. Five Nocardia species were identified, Nocardia cyriacigeorgica being the major species (50 % of cases). At first isolation, Nocardia was the sole pathogen recovered in six patients. Seven patients presented pulmonary exacerbation. For 12 patients, antimicrobial treatment against Nocardia was started immediately, mainly based on cotrimoxazole (6 of the 12 cases). In this study, we highlight the heterogeneity of the clinical management of Nocardia spp. in CF. Guidelines for the clinical management of Nocardia infections in CF patients are proposed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Margaux Burguière for her help in collecting data from the CF Center of the University Hospital of Montpellier and the technician team of the different microbiological laboratories (Lyon, Montpellier and Toulouse) and of the FON for their excellent technical assistance.

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Correspondence to Anne Doléans-Jordheim.

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Rodriguez-Nava, V., Durupt, S., Chyderiotis, S. et al. A French multicentric study and review of pulmonary Nocardia spp. in cystic fibrosis patients. Med Microbiol Immunol 204, 493–504 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00430-014-0360-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00430-014-0360-3

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