A Case of Chronic Noninvasive Actinomycosis in the Nasal Cavity / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

Actinomycosis is a rare anaerobic, gram-positive bacterial infection caused by Actinomyces, which is a normal flora in the gastrointestinal and female genitourinary tracts. The cervicofacial area is a common infection site for actinomycosis, while nasal cavity is rare. Generally, standard treatment of the disease is a long term antibiotics therapy. However, a treatment strategy for nasal actinomycosis has not been established due to its rarity. We present a case of nasal actinomycosis that was managed by surgical removal. A 49-year-old woman visited our clinic with epistaxis and foul odor and nasoendoscopy showed a mass in patient's right nasal cavity. The mass comprised of Actinomyces was easily removed by endoscopic surgery. Further histopathologic examination revealed that the surrounding tissues did not contain Actinomyces, so we stopped applying antibiotics to the patients. No recurrence has been observed for 26 months. We report this rare case of nasal actinomycosis with a literature review regarding treatment.