Ballelos Nikki Anne M, Awan Muhammad, Dao Thomas, Shames Alison, Ghaly Maged
Research, Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, USA.
Medicine, Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, USA.
Cureus. 2025 May 7;17(5):e83696. doi: 10.7759/cureus.83696. eCollection 2025 May.
Pulmonary actinomycosis is a rare manifestation of infection and is linked to aspiration, poor oral hygiene, and respiratory disease. Although timely treatment leads to favorable outcomes, pulmonary infection often presents with nonspecific symptoms and imaging findings, delaying appropriate interventions. Our 57-year-old female patient with a history of oral cancer and chronic pancreatitis presented to the emergency department with anorexia, weakness, nausea, and diarrhea. Chest and abdominal imaging raised concerns for pancreatic disease and, to our interest, an upper lobe pleural effusion. The patient was diagnosed with a pancreatic pseudocyst, and further pulmonological testing led to the additional diagnosis of pulmonary actinomycosis, ultimately confirmed by periodic acid-Schiff staining. The pulmonary infection was an incidental finding that proved to be crucial for the patient's recovery. This case report underscores the need for further research into pulmonary actinomycosis to identify potential patterns in its clinical presentation and imaging, with the aim of improving diagnostic techniques and time to appropriate interventions.
肺放线菌病是一种罕见的感染表现，与误吸、口腔卫生差及呼吸系统疾病有关。尽管及时治疗可带来良好预后，但肺部感染常表现为非特异性症状和影像学表现，从而延误适当干预。我们的这位57岁女性患者有口腔癌和慢性胰腺炎病史，因厌食、乏力、恶心和腹泻就诊于急诊科。胸部和腹部影像学检查引发了对胰腺疾病的担忧，且令我们感兴趣的是，发现了上叶胸腔积液。该患者被诊断为胰腺假性囊肿，进一步的肺部检查导致额外诊断出肺放线菌病，最终经高碘酸-希夫染色得以确诊。肺部感染是一个偶然发现，但对患者的康复至关重要。本病例报告强调了有必要对肺放线菌病进行进一步研究以确定其临床表现和影像学的潜在模式，目的是改进诊断技术并缩短至适当干预的时间。
