Lymphocutaneous nocardiosis with multiple subcutaneous nodules distributed over the extensor aspect of the forearm. Report of a case.

Abstract

We report a case of lymphocutaneous nocardiosis due to Nocardia brasiliensis, marked by multiple subcutaneous nodules and abscesses on the extensor aspect of the left forearm in a 53-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus. Nine months before she was first examined, she had fallen on a concrete surface. A nodule had appeared 2 months later at the same site and had expanded and been followed by others, which finally covered most of the extensor aspect of the forearm. We speculated that the bacteria may have been conveyed retrogradely via the lymph vessels in a distal direction, perhaps as a result of the trauma and the subsequent development of an intradermal lesion.