Isolated Nocardia exalbida endogenous endophthalmitis

Purpose: To report an immunocompetent patient with Nocardia exalbida endogenous endophthalmitis. Design: Case report. Methods: Clinicalpathologic correlation and microbiologic evaluation were performed on an enucleated eye. Results: A 56-year-old man presented with rapidly progressive vision loss associated with a posterior choroidal mass and serous retinal detachment. Pathologic evaluation of the enucleated eye demonstrated endogenous endophthalmitis. Nocardia exalbida was identified microbiologically. Systemic workup failed to demonstrate definite foci of systemic infection or evidence of immunocompromise. Review of literature failed to identify previously reported cases of Nocardia exalbida endophthalmitis. Conclusions: Nocardia can rarely cause isolated endogenous endophthalmitis in immunocompetent patients, which can contribute to a delay in diagnosis and vision loss.