Nocardial brain abscesses in a pregnant woman

We describe what we believe to be the second case in which a pregnancy was complicated by the formation of brain abscesses due to Nocardia asteroides; this case may be the first one in which no risk factor for the infection (other than the pregnancy itself) could be found. Craniotomy with surgical drainage of the abscesses, combined with prolonged antimicrobial therapy, led to clinical cure in the mother, and she gave birth to an unaffected infant. This case illustrates the difficulty in treating a nocardial infection of the brain during pregnancy as well as the importance of achieving adequate surgical drainage of the abscesses.