Another opportunistic infection associated with alemtuzumab use in a person with MS. #MSBlog #ClinicSpeak
Question: "I am day 12 day after last alemtuzumab dose and probably have lymphopenia/leukopenia at the moment. Should I avoid the garden this spring :-(?"
Answer: Yes, you are putting yourself at risk of Nocardial infection. Nocardia species live in the soil. There have been cases described post alemtuzumab (see below).
The first case below presented with a 3-week history of cough, shortness of breath, and a high fever 8 weeks after the first cycle of alemtuzumab treatment. Nocardia are aerobic gram-positive bacteria found in soil and water. Nocardia is an opportunistic infection and needs to be taken very seriously. At the moment nocardial infections are rare and I am not sure what the risk is post-alemtuzumab. However, whilst you are neutropaenic and lymphopaenic I would advise avoiding soil exposure.
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Nocardia in the brain at autopsy; image from Wikipedia |
Penkert et al. Fulminant Central Nervous System Nocardiosis in a Patient Treated With Alemtuzumab for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. JAMA Neurol. 2016 Jun 1;73(6):757-9.
Labels: #ClinicSpeak, alemtuzmab, Nocardia