• Users Online: 993
  • Home
  • Print this page
  • Email this page
Home About us Editorial board Ahead of print Current issue Search Archives Submit article Instructions Subscribe Contacts Login 
CASE REPORT
Year : 2018  |  Volume : 2  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 31-33

Actinomycotic infection of the tonsils: a case report and review of the literature


Department of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Puducherry, India

Correspondence Address:
Satvinder Singh Bakshi
Department of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Puducherry
India
Login to access the Email id

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/ijofb.ijofb_19_17

Rights and Permissions

Actinomycotic infections of the head and neck, although fairly uncommon, represent an important entity because of its varied presentation, difficult diagnosis, and long course of treatment. A 20-year-old female presented with throat pain and difficulty in swallowing since 1 year. Examination revealed a Grade IV enlargement of the left tonsil. The patient underwent tonsillectomy, and the postoperative histopathology revealed actinomycosis. Actinomyces are anaerobic filamentous bacteria which are known to colonize as commensals in tonsillar crypts which on histology show an outer zone of granulation tissue and a central zone of necrosis containing many sulfur granules that represent microcolonies of actinomyces. Actinomycosis of the head-and-neck region is a significant entity because it can mimic other common lesions especially in the oropharynx. In cases of recurrent tonsillitis and tonsillar hypertrophy, tonsillectomy is the treatment of choice and histopathological examination of resected tissue is strongly advocated. This report supports the view that actinomyces may have a causal association with recurrent acute tonsillitis and tonsillar hypertrophy.


[FULL TEXT] [PDF]*
Print this article     Email this article
 Next article
 Previous article
 Table of Contents

 Similar in PUBMED
   Search Pubmed for
   Search in Google Scholar for
 Related articles
 Citation Manager
 Access Statistics
 Reader Comments
 Email Alert *
 Add to My List *
 * Requires registration (Free)
 

 Article Access Statistics
    Viewed20229    
    Printed538    
    Emailed0    
    PDF Downloaded693    
    Comments [Add]    
    Cited by others 1    

Recommend this journal