Pulmonary nocardiosis is a rare disorder that mainly affects immune-compromised patients. We report a 37-year-old male who presented with persistent fever associated with productive cough. During this course of therapy, he had recurrent admissions for empyema thoracic. Clinically, his vital signs were normal. Blood investigations show leukocytosis with a significantly raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Sputum acid-fast bacilli (AFB) was scanty 1+ and sputum mycobacterium culture was negative. Chest X-ray (CXR) showed consolidative changes with mild to moderate pleural effusion on the right side. Skin biopsy was taken and showed Paecilomyces species. A computed tomography scan (CT thorax) was performed and revealed a multiloculated collection within the right hemithorax with a split pleura sign. Decortications were performed and tissue culture and sensitivity (C+S) growth of Nocardia species. And it is sensitive to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim and completed treatment for 4 months. This case highlights that pulmonary nocardiosis should be kept in mind in also immune-competent patients, especially in suspected cases of tuberculosis not responding to antitubercular therapy.
Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia (LIP) is a rare condition, commonly associated with Sjogren's syndrome (SS). We report a 53-year-old woman with an incidental finding of an abnormal chest radiograph. LIP was diagnosed based on high-resolution computed tomography and lung biopsy, but treatment was not initiated. Six years later, she developed cough and dyspnoea, associated with dry eyes, dry mouth, and arthralgia. While being investigated for the respiratory symptoms, she developed cutaneous vasculitis and was treated with 1 mg/kg prednisolone, which resulted in the improvement of her respiratory symptoms. Physical examination revealed fine bibasal crepitations, active vasculitic skin lesions, and a positive Schirmer's test. Investigations revealed a restrictive pattern in the pulmonary function test, stable LIP pattern in HRCT, and positive anti-Ro antibodies. She was treated with prednisolone and azathioprine for 18 months, and within this time, she was hospitalised for flare of LIP, as well as respiratory tract infection on three occasions. During the third flare, when she also developed cutaneous vasculitis, she agreed for prednisolone but refused other second-line agents. To date, she remained well with the maintenance of prednisolone 2.5 mg monotherapy for more than one year. The lessons from this case are (i) patients with LIP can be asymptomatic, (ii) LIP can precede symptoms of SS, and (iii) treatment decision for asymptomatic patients with abnormal imaging or patients with mild severity should be weighed between the risk of immunosuppression and risk of active disease.
Brown-colored pleural effusion is rare and may result from high bilirubin levels such as bilothorax (often described as a pleural fluid-to-serum bilirubin ratio of > 1.0). We describe four patients with malignant pleural effusion that appeared macroscopically brown with a pleural fluid-to-serum bilirubin ratio between 3.7 and 16.2. All had metastatic adenocarcinomas; three were from lung and one from gastric origin. None demonstrated clear pleurobiliary fistulas on investigations. Postulates for the development of brown effusion include heme oxygenase 1 overexpression in malignant cells situated in the pleura, intrapleural hemolysis, passive movement of bile through microscopic diaphragmatic pores, and drainage of biliary fluid into the pleural lymphatics.