Unusual aetiology of lymphocyte-predominant exudative pleural effusion: primary mediastinal actinomycosis

Respirology Case Reports
Gil Myeong SeongChanghwan Kim

Abstract

Actinomycosis is a rare infectious bacterial disease typically involving cervicofacial, abdominopelvic, or thoracic regions, caused by Actinomyces species. However, involvement of the mediastinum as the primary site of origin is extremely rare. An elderly patient complained of left-sided chest pain. The chest radiograph revealed pleural effusion, which revealed lymphocyte-predominant exudates. Chest computed tomography showed a soft tissue mass in the left anterior mediastinum. Positron emission tomography revealed an increased uptake of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose in this lesion. To exclude malignancy and make a confirmative diagnosis, a mediastinal biopsy was performed through video-assisted thoracic surgery. Finally, mediastinal actinomycosis was diagnosed. We report herein a case of mediastinal actinomycosis mimicking lung malignancy presented with recurrent lymphocyte-predominant pleural fluid exudate. In patients with a recurrent or unexplained exudative pleural effusion, it may be worthwhile to consider a hidden foci of actinomycosis.

References

Nov 1, 1994·Chest·E L Coodley, R Yoshinaka
Aug 1, 1993·Chest·M J HsiehC H Chang
Jan 1, 2008·International Journal of Infectious Diseases : IJID : Official Publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases·Francisco AcevedoPablo Gaete
Oct 13, 2011·BMJ : British Medical Journal·V K WongV C Weston
Dec 18, 2012·Insights Into Imaging·Ji-Yeon HanPil Jo Choi
May 16, 2013·BMC Infectious Diseases·So Ri KimYong Chul Lee
May 5, 2017·Annals of Thoracic Medicine·Hayoung ChoiHojoong Kim

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Nov 6, 2021·Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease = Archivio Monaldi Per Le Malattie Del Torace·Rafael Martínez-Girón, Liron Pantanowitz

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
biopsy

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Actinomycosis

Actinomycosis is a rare, chronic, and slowly progressive granulomatous disease caused by filamentous Gram positive anaerobic bacteria from the Actinomycetaceae family (genus Actinomyces). The disease is characterised by the formation of painful abscesses in the mouth, lungs,breast or gastrointestinal tract. Discover the latest research on actinomycosis here.

Related Papers

Archivos de bronconeumología
N Avisbal PortilloA Benítez Domenech
AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology
D E MorganJ H Hasson
Journal of the Formosan Medical Association = Taiwan Yi Zhi
K K NgC C Tsai
Treatment Services Bulletin
G W CATES
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved