Vol.97 No.8 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 97 No. 8 August 2004
Neck Actinomycosis Developed into Septic Shock
Seigo Ueda
(Asahikawa Medical College, Kitami Red Cross Hospital)
Satoshi Nonaka, Hideyuki Ishii and Yasuaki Harabuchi
(Asahikawa Medical College)
Naoki Kanai and Testuji Wada
(Kitami Red Cross Hospital)
Actinomycosis is an inflammatory disease caused primarily by infection by Actinomyces israelii, which is a Gram-positive and anaerobic bacterium, and is often reported to be a chronic purulent disease. It is often necessary to differentiate actinomycosis from tumor. Because of effective usage of antibiotics, the clinical courses of the disease have been getting milder.
A 51-year-old-male was conveyed to our clinic with complaints of clouding of consciousness and neck swelling. His blood pressure was 60/30 mmHg and heart rate was from 160 to 170 per minute. His neck showed diffuse swelling with flushing. Cervical CT examination revealed the existence of abscess and free air in the right lateral neck. After treatment of septic shock, the abscess was surgically drained under general anesthesia.
Key words : actinomycosis, deep neck infection, septic shock