A Case of Cervical Actinomycosis Misdiagnosed to Malignant Tumor / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

Actinomyces are gram positive anaerobes which exist as normal flora in the oral and digestive tract. Actinomycosis is a very rare subacute or chronic infectious disease that causes sinus fistula, tract or abscess due to the invasion of surrounding soft tissue when normal mucosa is damaged by inflammation. Clinically, it is categorized into cervicofacial, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, and systemic infection, in which cervicofacial infection accounts for 50% of all actinomycosis. With various nonspecific clinical manifestations and uncertain results of fine needle aspiration cytology and culture examination, treatment may be difficult since it may be misdiagnosed as malignancy or tuberculosis. Along with literature, we present a case of a 57-year old male patient with cervical actinomycosis in the submandibular mass, which was mistaken for malignancy.