[Pulmonary nocardiosis with cerebral abscess successfully treated by medication alone--a case report].

Nocardiosis is an illness caused by members of the genus Nocardia. Although it is usually an opportunistic infection in immunocompromised hosts, it can also occur in patients without a definable predisposing condition. Three species are recognized as being responsible for what most frequently seen. The primary site of infection is overwhelmingly the lungs. Brain abscess is by far the most common site for nocardial metastasis from pulmonary lesion. Although surgical intervention must always be considered in the treatment of nocardial brain abscess, it can clearly be cured by medical therapy alone. We report this case and also review the literature.