Posttraumatic ankle arthritis due to a novel Nocardia species.

INTRODUCTION: Nocardial arthritis in immunocompetent patients is rare, and the optimum duration of antimicrobial therapy is unknown, although several months of antibiotic treatment is often recommended. CASE REPORT: We here report the first case of human infection with a novel Nocardia sp., summarise the epidemiology of nocardial arthritis and outline the feasibility of relatively short antibiotic treatments after careful surgical drainage.