Case Report: Spinal cord abscess due to Nocardia farcinica presenting as longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis

A middle-aged man, renal transplant recipient, was admitted with lower extremity paralysis, loss of sensation and urinary retention. The initial diagnostic workup revealed extensive inflammatory spinal changes on imaging, consistent with longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis. Cerebrospinal fluid testing demonstrated neutrophilic pleocytosis; routine tests for bacterial and viral pathogens were negative. The patient received high-dose steroids for presumed autoimmune myelitis, but his condition worsened. Repeat spinal imaging revealed an intramedullary spinal cord abscess and a loculated collection in the cauda equina. Nocardia farcinica was isolated from spinal biopsy tissue cultures and metagenomic sequencing of cerebrospinal fluid. He received treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and linezolid, with subsequent improvement of the radiological abnormalities. At outpatient follow-up two months after initiating antimicrobials, the patient endorsed improved upper extremity strength, though remained paraplegic. This case report highlights the protean manifestations of central nervous system nocardiosis and the benefits of using metagenomic sequencing to diagnose complex central nervous system infections.