Three Cases of Actinomycosis of the Head and Neck / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

Actinomycosis is a rare form of disease that is caused by Actinomyces such as A. israelii and A. bovis, which may take the form of an acute or a subacute disease progression. 55% of this disease arises in the head and neck area, and the remaining 45% of the disease occurs in the chest and the gastrointestinal tract, Our cases show the rare routes of invasion of actinomycosis. The first case was a 40-year-old man complaining of headache for 5-6 months and of a recently developed trismus. Soft brownish bulging mass was observed in his posterior nasopharyngeal wall. CT showed the skull base involvement, and biopsy confirmed actinomycosis. The patient was successfully cured with penicillin. The second case was a 49-year-old female presenting a firm and fragile mass in her left nasal cavity. She was treated with endoscopic removal of the mass including the adjacent mucosa followed by ampicillin administration for 8 months. The last case was a 78-year-old female having a painful mass on the right cheek, Diagnosis was confirmed with the fine needle aspiration biopsy. She was successfully treated with surgical excision and antibiotic treatment. We present, with the appropriate review, 3 cases of actinomycosis that developed in three different areas of the head.