Pelvic actinomycosis

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled Pelvic actinomycosis presenting with a large abscess and bowel stenosis with marked response to conservative treatment: a case report. (J Med Case Reports. 2007 Nov 21;1(1):141). Authors are Nozawa H Yamada Y Muto Y et al.. Pelvic actinomycosis is a rare disease that can result in abscess formation, bowel obstruction, and other serious complications. The correct diagnosis can seldom be established before radical surgery because the disease often mimics pelvic neoplasms. Pelvic actinomycosis is associated with long-term use of an intrauterine contraceptive device. We report a woman with a long-standing intrauterine contraceptive device who complained of symptoms mimicking large bowel ileus with a subacute course.A cervical Papanicolaou smear disclosed Actinomyces species.The intrauterine device was removed. High-dose ampicillin administration led to dramatic shrinkage of the abscess and improved bowel movement. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.