Fig 1 - uploaded by Devendra Kanagalingam
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CT image shows inflammatory stranding of fat and a tubo-ovarian mass (arrow).
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Pelvic actinomycosis is an extremely rare disease which may complicate long-term intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) use. Its timely recognition is important as clinical and radiological signs may mimic other intra-abdominal pathology and lead to radical and unnecessary surgery. We report a 50-year-old woman with pelvic actinomycosis resulting...
Similar publications
Pelvic actinomycosis is associated with long-standing use of an intrauterine contraceptive device and may present with clinical signs and symptoms of pelvic malignancy. Diagnostic imaging can confirm the presence of a pelvic mass and tissue infiltration but findings are often non-specific. We present a case of pelvic actinomycosis with tubo-ovarian...
A 37 year old female was referred to the general surgical outpatient clinic with anaemia and change of bowel habit. She had a two month history of passing loose stool, mucus per rectum, and a sensation …
Objective
To investigate the incidence of actinomyces-like organisms in routine cervical smears of Korean women and to evaluate its association with the development of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in these women.
Methods
The results of cervical smears between 2011 and 2012 at a single university hospital were searched. If positive for actinom...
Citations
... Thus, in some cases, unnecessary radical cancer surgery has been performed. 7,8 The unifying feature of our seven cases is that they all presented to a gynecological oncology MDTM in a Cancer Unit with suspicion of new or recurrent cancer. None had features of a septic condition, none had fever, and only mild neutrophilia was present. ...
... Devendra and Chen presented a pelvic actinomycosis case with acute abdominal pain. They found an abscence of planes between the bowel abscess and overlying omentum [16] due to the infiltrative tissue damage. Woody induration is the fibrotic inflammatory response to actinomycosis described by Goodman et al. [17]. ...
Intrauterine devices (IUD) are frequently used as a family planning procedure in developing countries because they are easy to administer and governmental policies support their use in many countries. It is recommended that IUDs be removed or replaced after 10 years, but longer use is common, especially in developing countries. In some cases, rare infections such as pelvic inflammatory diseases, pelvic tuberculosis, or abdominopelvic actinomycosis related to IUD can develop. Pelvic actinomycosis is a rare disease and is often diagnosed incidentally during surgery. In recent years, there has been an increase in actinomycotic infections mostly due to long-term usage of IUD and forgotten intravaginal pessaries. It usually develops as an ascending infection. It is usually associated with non-specific symptoms such as lower abdominal pain, menstrual disturbances, fever, and vaginal discharge. The disease is sometimes asymptomatic. The rate of accurate preoperative diagnosis for pelvic actinomycosis is less than 10%, and symptoms and imaging studies sometimes mimic pelvic malignancy. This report details a case with abdominopelvic actinomycosis associated with an IUD presenting with highly elevated thromboctye count and small bowel perforation with abscess formation.
... Although these devices are described as risk factors, the accepted risk is frequently very low. 5,9,11 Within the abdomen, the most common location is the ileocecal appendicular region (65% of cases) followed by the descending colon or sigmoid colon. There are also a significant number of reported cases with hepatic and urogenital tract involvement. ...
... Sulfur granules (macroscopic colonies of microorganisms with a yellowish-orange color) are characteristic of this disease with an outer fibrotic area that gives them their typical appearance and hardness similar to wood. 9 Typical of the disease is a granulomatous inflam- cause for the development of an abdominal process is a pre-perforated appendicitis. Other risk factors for disease development are foreign bodies, hypoproteinemia and immunocompromised states such as treatment for diabetes with steroids or possibly neoplasms. ...
... Other risk factors for disease development are foreign bodies, hypoproteinemia and immunocompromised states such as treatment for diabetes with steroids or possibly neoplasms. 8,9,12,13 In the present case, the only risk factor found was diabetes because the patient had no history of previous abdominal surgeries or trauma. Perhaps a small, silent perforation was the source of the scene months before the final evolution. ...
Abdominal actinomycosis is a rare infection with a difficult diagnosis that can simulate multiple surgical scenarios such as neoplasms or complications of inflammatory bowel disease.
We present the case of a 69-year-old female who underwent emergency surgery due to a difficult and painful tumor, suggesting an incarcerated umbilical hernia. Whitish lesions were discovered in the abdominal wall and a stenotic colonic mass was managed similar to a neoplasm. Anatomopathological study showed abdominal actinomycosis, requiring a lengthy course with penicillin.
Actinomycosis infection is a chronic disease with granulomatous lesions and areas of fibrosis. Its incidence is increasing and the location usually is cervicofacial. The great challenge of this pathology lies in the diagnosis because it simulates different diseases of diverse natures. This type of infection can be treated successfully with drugs if the etiology is identified in a timely manner. However, in the case of our patient, the manner of presentation made diagnosis more difficult prior to surgical trauma.
... [5][6][7] It is normally present in the GI tract and female genital tract. 5,6,[8][9][10] The three main clinical forms of Actinomycosis are cervicofacial (31%-65%), abdomino/pelvic (20%-36%), and thoracic (15%-33%). 5,7,[11][12][13][14] Actinomycosis was first described by Israel J in 1878 15 and it was first diagnosed in a live patient by Ponficke in 1879. ...
... 11,15,33 The absence of surgical planes and extensive spreading to adjacent structures and organs, as in the present case, is due to infiltrative tissue damage as a result of the release of proteolytic enzymes by the organism. This phenomenon may result in the condition of being mistaken for pelvic malignancy or "frozen pelvis" 10,13 and unnecessary radical surgery may be performed with high morbidity and occasional fatality. 41 Awareness of this entity may enable the surgeon to minimize major organ resections. ...
Actinomycosis is a rare chronic, suppurative infection caused by the bacteria of the Actinomyces species. This chronic infection may present with a variety of symptoms. Florid abscess formation with fistulation, abundant granulation and dense surrounding fibrosis are common. Diagnosis prior to, or even during surgery is rare and the findings are usually mistaken for inflammatory process or malignancy. Abdominal actinomycosis has been recognized for over 150 years yet is largely unknown to most clinicians. It was once described as "the most misdiagnosed disease". We report here a 59-year-old woman who presented with enterovesical fistula secondary to pelvic actinomycosis. Its recognition is important as clinical and radiological findings may mimic malignancy and lead to radical and unnecessary surgery. A high index of suspicion for this rare but devastating condition must be maintained. To our knowledge, this is the second reported case of enterovesical fistula secondary to pelvic actinomycosis in the English language literature. The literature on abdomino-pelvic actinomycosis was reviewed.
INTODUCTION: The adhesion of the direct obturation to the prepared dentine is widely
discussed in the scientific literature, but the abilities of the hardened laboratory composite to
accomplish a chemical or physical connection to the adhesive system and the dentine is not well
studied.
AIM: To study the surface of two laboratory composite materials, etched by Er:YAG dental
laser.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two samples (1 mm/1 mm) of different laboratory
composites and a real indirect obturation were made. The materials were hardened in the technician
laboratory according the producers’ instructions. Half of the surfaces of the samples were treated
by the etching program of LiteTouch dental laser (2940 nm) for 30 s. The surface of the samples
was observed by Scanning Electron Microscope in increasing magnification. The scanograms of
the etched and not etched surfaces were analyzed and compared.
RESULTS: The etched surfaces of all the samples show an increased roughness compared to
the not etched ones in all magnifications. The big magnification shows the cavities in the material
after etching with Er:YAG laser.
CONCLUSION: Er:YAG dental etching of the laboratory composite material can provide
a better opportunity of strengthening the connection between the indirect obturation and the
prepared cavity by increasing the contact surface of the indirect filling and the adhesive system.
Introduction
Actinomycosis is a chronic bacterial infection caused by Actinomyces, Gram-positive anaerobic bacteria. Its symptomatology imitates some malignant pelvic tumours, tuberculosis, or nocardiosis, causing abscesses and fistulas. Actinomycoses are opportunistic infections and require normal mucous barriers to be altered. No epidemiological studies have been conducted to determine prevalence or incidence of such infections.
Objective
To analyse the clinical cases of pelvic actinomycosis reported worldwide, to update the information about the disease.
Methods
A systematic review of worldwide pelvic actinomycosis cases between 1980 and 2014 was performed, utilising the PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. The following information was analysed: year, country, type of study, number of cases, use of intrauterine device (IUD), final and initial diagnosis, and method of diagnosis.
Results
63 articles met the search criteria, of which 55 reported clinical cases and 8 reported cross-sectional studies.
Conclusions
Pelvic actinomycosis is confusing to diagnose and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pelvic chronic inflammatory lesions. It is commonly diagnosed through a histological report, obtained after a surgery subsequent to an erroneous initial diagnosis. A bacterial culture in anaerobic medium could be useful for the diagnosis but requires a controlled technique and should be performed using specialised equipment.
Actinomycosis is a rare chronic bacterial infection. In humans, the most common pathogen is Actinomyces israelii. The disease may affect pulmonary system, gastro-intestinal tract or female reproductive system. The reported male-to-female ratio is 3:1. Clinical signs of actimomycosis resemble cancer and, quite often patients undergo surgery with diagnosis coming after histological examination. Antibacterial treatment may effectively eradicate the disease and it is therefore reasonable to consider actinomycosis whenever a patient with possible neoplasma presents. Here we describe a case of actinomycosis in a 78-year old female presenting with the clinical signs of acute abdomen, along with a short review of the literature.
Intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) is one of the most widely used family planning methods. Alt-hough considered to be generally safe, it can be associated with problems such as missing IUCD. There have been many reports of isolated missing IUCD but reports of two missing IUCDs in the same patient are very rare. We report the case of a 35-year-old lady with such an occurrence that was diagnosed incidentally on a routine kidney, ureter and bladder (KUB) radiography.
Crying is the first neurophysiological demonstration of the newborn. The acoustic analysis of crying episodes can provide useful information in the early diagnosis of several pathologies.
We carried out a spectrographic cry analysis of 40 infants with several diseases such as neonatal asphyxia, breathing disorders, deafness and neurological disorders. Statistical t-test was used in order to compare means of fundamental frequencies (F0) of cries among pathologies, as well as contingency tables for qualitative variables and melodic form.
No significant differences of F0 were found by applying the t-test among pathologies. Time of inspiration in breathing disorders is higher compared with other groups. Infants with deafness and neurological disorders present poor melodic forms. Qualitative analysis revealed more often glottal roll and vibrato.
Cry analysis is clinically useful for early detection of diseases in newborns as a result of alterations in the central nervous system that are reflected in phonoarticulatory and respiratory functions for sound emission.
