{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]],"date-time":"2026-05-14T16:12:42Z","timestamp":1778775162753,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,16]],"date-time":"2022-02-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1644969600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Brain abscesses caused by <jats:italic>Nocardia farcinica<\/jats:italic> are rare and difficult to diagnose. Conventional methods for diagnosing Nocardia species include blood culture, microscopy, and tissue slice, but the performance is not satisfied. We report a case of brain abscess due to <jats:italic>N. farcinica<\/jats:italic> diagnosed by metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Case Presentation<\/jats:title><jats:p>We report a case of a 58-year-old man with brain abscess caused by <jats:italic>N. farcinica<\/jats:italic>. The patient had a history of pemphigus and required long-term methylprednisolone administration. No pathogen was detected in blood culture, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture, and fast-acid staining. mNGS identified <jats:italic>N. farcinica<\/jats:italic> in the CSF. The symptoms and signs of the patient were significantly improved after changing the antibiotics accordingly to sensitive antibiotics.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is helpful for early diagnosis and subsequent treatment of <jats:italic>Nocardia<\/jats:italic>-associated meningitis and encephalitis, avoiding brain surgery. Early and accurate diagnosis and prompt antibiotic treatment reduced its mortality.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2022.803554","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,16]],"date-time":"2022-02-16T05:38:10Z","timestamp":1644989890000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Brain Abscess Caused by Nocardia farcinica and Diagnosed by Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing: A Case Report"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Jianhua","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shuhua","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Junda","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Han","family":"Xia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xianghong","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"205","DOI":"10.1007\/s100960050460","article-title":"Infection caused by Nocardia farcinica: case report and review","volume":"19","author":"Torres","year":"2000","journal-title":"Eur J Clin Microbiol Infectious Dis."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"243","DOI":"10.1016\/S1201-9712(03)90102-0","article-title":"Nocardiosis: a review","volume":"7","author":"Corti","year":"2003","journal-title":"Int J Infectious Dis."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"622","DOI":"10.1227\/00006123-199410000-00007","article-title":"Nocardial brain abscess: treatment strategies and factors influencing outcome","volume":"35","author":"Mamelak","year":"1994","journal-title":"Neurosurgery."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103","DOI":"10.1186\/1752-1947-7-103","article-title":"Sulfonamide resistance in a disseminated infection caused by Nocardia wallacei: a case report","volume":"7","author":"Cassir","year":"2013","journal-title":"J Med Case Rep."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"ofab067","DOI":"10.1093\/ofid\/ofab067","article-title":"Clinical presentation, management, and outcomes of patients with brain abscess due to nocardia species","volume":"8","author":"Corsini Campioli","year":"2021","journal-title":"Open Forum Infectious Dis."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.1038\/s41591-020-1105-z","article-title":"Rapid pathogen detection by metagenomic next-generation sequencing of infected body fluids","volume":"27","author":"Gu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat Med."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"355","DOI":"10.1111\/ene.14533","article-title":"Rapid and accurate diagnosis of brain abscess caused by Nocardia asiatica with a combination of Ziehl-Neelsen staining and metagenomics next-generation sequencing","volume":"28","author":"Huang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Eur J Neurol."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"380","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-021-06071-1","article-title":"Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura with brain abscess caused by Nocardia farcinica diagnosed using metagenomics next-generation sequencing of the cerebrospinal fluid: a case report","volume":"21","author":"Zhou","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMC Infectious Dis."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"281","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2334-11-281","article-title":"Clinical characteristics of patients with Epstein Barr virus in cerebrospinal fluid","volume":"11","author":"Martelius","year":"2011","journal-title":"BMC Infectious Dis."},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"285","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-444-53488-0.00013-4","article-title":"Epstein-Barr virus infections of the nervous system","volume":"123","author":"Tselis","year":"2014","journal-title":"Handbook Clin Neurol."},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-444-63849-6.00012-8","article-title":"Other central nervous system infections: cytomegalovirus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Treponema pallidum","volume":"152","author":"Marra","year":"2018","journal-title":"Handbook Clin Neurol."},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2730","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.00588-14","article-title":"First report of Nocardia beijingensis infection in an immunocompetent host in the United States","volume":"52","author":"Crozier","year":"2014","journal-title":"J Clin Microbiol."},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.1001\/archinte.1980.00330150075019","article-title":"Pulmonary nocardiosis. 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