Nocardia Keratitis in a Human Immunodeficiency Virus Patient

Background

The development of Nocardia keratitis in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection is rare, and we could find no cases reported in the literature.

Case

A 48-year-old woman who had human immunodeficiency virus infection presented with decreased visual acuity, redness, and irritation in the right eye.

Observations

Initially, the diagnosis was fungal keratitis, and she was treated with 0.3% amphotericin B eye drops and oral fluconazole for 1 month without improvement. Then, all former drugs were discontinued, and a corneal scraping was carried out. The culture result disclosed Nocardia asteroides, and after treatment with 10% sulfacetamide eye drops and oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, the keratitis subsided dramatically.

Conclusions

The treatment result for Nocardia keratitis in a human immunodeficiency virus patient was favorable after intensive use of 10% sulfacetamide eyedrops. Nocardia keratitis should be kept in mind as a possible causative organism when antifungal therapy fails in a keratitis case.