Actinomycosis masquerading as malignancy

We describe a patient who presented with neurological symptoms and radiological findings consistent with metastatic malignancy in several sites. However, no obvious primary site of tumour was identified and the patient later went on to develop clinical features of sepsis whilst using palliative dexa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Acute medicine Vol. 11; no. 2; p. 86
Main Authors:	O'Riordan, Devaki, Zermansky, Adam, Bishop, Paul, Taggart, Simon C O
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England 2012
Subjects:	Actinomycosis - diagnosis Actinomycosis - pathology Brain - microbiology Brain - pathology Brain Neoplasms - diagnosis Brain Neoplasms - pathology Diagnosis, Differential Female Giant Cell Arteritis - diagnosis Humans Lung - pathology Lung Neoplasms - diagnosis Lung Neoplasms - pathology Middle Aged Neoplasm Metastasis - diagnosis Neoplasm Metastasis - pathology
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Summary:	We describe a patient who presented with neurological symptoms and radiological findings consistent with metastatic malignancy in several sites. However, no obvious primary site of tumour was identified and the patient later went on to develop clinical features of sepsis whilst using palliative dexamethasone therapy. A diagnosis of actinomycosis was eventually made on open lung biopsy and the patient recovered completely on penicillin V. This case serves to illustrate the need to obtain a formal tissue diagnosis whenever possible in all cases of suspected malignancy, in addition to exposing the weaknesses inherent in empiric diagnoses.
ISSN:	1747-4892