• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.33 no.7
• /
• pp.601-604
• /
• 2000

Actinomycosis is an indolent, suppurative infection caused by an anaerobic gram-positive organism(usually actinomyces israelii) which usually causes infection in the face, mediastitum, lung, and abdomen. Primary esophageal actinomycosis which is not related with pulmonary or mediastinal actinomycosis, is very rare, especially in immunocompetent host. A 58-year-old woman has been suffered from dysphagia, odynophagia, and chest pain after insertion of esophageal stent in esophageal acid stricture. She underwent a esophagectomy with esophagogastrostomy for above mentioned symptoms. Pathologic diagnosis was a esophageal actinomycosis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.315-317
• /
• 2002

Pulmonary actinomycosis is a rare disease entity to undergo thoracic surgery. We experienced a 49-year-old man with pulmonary actinomycosis who was admitted due to recurrent hemoptysis. Prior to admission, he was diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis on the basis of his clinical manifestations and chest radiological findings. The plain chest x-ray and chest computed tomography(CT) showed a cavitary lesion in left upper lobe and was given anti-tuberculous medication, but the x-ray revealed no imprcovement. He underwent left upper lobe lobectomy with segmentectomy of lower lobe and the surgical specimen showed no evidence of mycobacterial infection, but revealed sulfur granules which is a typical pathological finding of actinomycosis. He was discharged uneventfully and is scheduled to receive 6 months of antibiotic treatment.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.70-74
• /
• 2014

Actinomycosis is caused by filamentous Gram positive anaerobic bacteria from the Actinomycetaceae family, and known as a rare cause of the infection at the eyeball. We report magnetic resonance findings of a 60-year-old Korean man with cervicofacial actinomycosis, including cellulitis in the eye and central nervous system actinomycosis. On orbital magnetic resonance imaging, gadolinium-enhanced T1-weight images showed multiple abnormal enhancing lesions in head and neck including right eye, and some include low signal intensities which considered as abscesses. The lesions was diagnosed as actinomycosis by incisional biopsy, and since then was cured by using antibiotics of penicillin family.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.170-175
• /
• 2018

Actinomyces are anaerobic, Gram-positive bacteria that are part of the endogenous flora of mucous membranes in humans. Infection caused by these bacteria is termed actinomycosis. The 3 most common types of actinomycosis are cervicofacial, abdominopelvic, and pulmonary. A previously healthy 6-year-old boy presented with the emergency room with fever, vomiting, and abdominal pain and initially diagnosed with acute appendicitis. Exploratory laparoscopy was done. Histologic finding demonstrated acute gangrenous appendicitis complicated by perforation and sulfur granules compatible with actinomycosis. Subsequently, he was diagnosed with abdominal actinomycosis and received long-term antibiotic therapy. Abdominal actinomycosis is uncommon in children and difficult to diagnose because of its nonspecific symptoms and of difficulties in growing Actinomyces in the clinical setting. It is necessary to include abdominal actinomycosis as a differential diagnosis of children presenting with abdominal pain.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.390-394
• /
• 2008

We report here on two eases of a 48-year old woman and a 46-year-old man who both presented with broneholithiasis and obstructive pneumonitis. Removal of the broncholithiasis failed with bronchofibroscopy, and so right middle lobectomy of the lung were done in the 2 patients. The histopathologic diagnosis was thoracic actinomycosis associated with broncholithiasis. Thoracic actinomycosis associated with broncholithiasis is a very rare condition, so we report here on these two cases of thoracic actinomycosis associated with broncholithiasis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.38 no.1 s.246
• /
• pp.50-55
• /
• 2005

Thoracic actinomycosis is a rare, chronic debilitating disease and it is difficult to diagnose and treat. Material and Method: Between March 1990 to December 2003, 17 patients were diagnosed and treated for actinomycosis in our center. Except 4 patients (involving cervicofacial, and abdominopelvic area), we reviewed the clinical characteristics, diagnosis method, and treatment in 13 patients. Result: In 8 patients, the operation was required for diagnosis and treatment. 7 of 8 patients had tumor-like lesions in radiological findings and they were not distinguished as lung cancer, and 1 of 8 patients was non-responsive to the antibiotics therapy. Among the 5 medically treated patients, 4 of 5 patients were diagnosed by bronchoscopic biopsy and one by CT-guided biopsy. All of them was well-responsive by the antibiotic treatment. Conclusion: Thoracic actinomycosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that respond well to antibiotics (penicillin therapy). It should be diagnosed by the repeated biopsy (CT-guided or bronchoscopic) before starting treatment. However, if the lesion is not distinguished as the lung cancer, non-responsive to the medical treatment, and the patients experience the recurrent hemoptysis, we can consider the operation for the diagnosis and treatment.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.59 no.4
• /
• pp.351-355
• /
• 2005

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.225-227
• /
• 2010

Actinomycosis is an unusual granulomatous infection caused by gram-positive anaerobic bacteria called Actinomyces species(predominantly Actinomyces israelii), which is a common and normally nonpathogenic organism found in the nose and throat. The three major clinical presentations of actinomycosis include the cervico-facial(the most common, 55%), thoracic, and abdominopelvic region. Actinomycosis typically has a chronic, indolent course characterized by swelling and induration of the soft tissues and eventual spontaneous drainage through multiple sinus tracts. Actinomycosis is difficult to diagnose because of variable presentation mimicking neoplasm and fastidious nature of the organism in culture. We present a case of actinomycosis in the parotid tip area which was mistaken for a salivary tumor.

• 대한세포병리학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 1991.06a
• /
• pp.22.1-22.1
• /
• 1991

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.62 no.3
• /
• pp.227-231
• /
• 2007

Several types of infection can cause organizing pneumonia when the inflammatory process remains active with the further organization of the intra-alveolar fibrinous exudates, despite the control of the infectious organism by antibiotics. We report a case of 37-year-old male with secondary organizing pneumonia associated with an endobronchial actinomycosis. The patient presented with a subacute cough, sputum and fever. Bronchial biopsy revealed sulfur granule to be consistent with the actinomycosis, and percutaneous needle biopsy revealed typical pattern of organizing pneumonia. The patient was treated with the appropriate antibiotics and corticosteroid. There was rapid improvement in the symptoms and radiological findings, and after six months of treatment, the corticosteroid dose was tapered off without a recurrence of the organizing pneumonia.