| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2010 | Volume
: 5
| Issue : 2 | Page : 80-85 |
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Treatment of thoracic actinomycosis: A retrospective analysis of 40 patients
Jae-Uk Song, Hye Yun Park, Kyeongman Jeon, Sang-Won Um, O Jung Kwon, Won-Jung Koh
Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
Correspondence Address:
Won-Jung Koh
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 135-710
Korea
 Source of Support: The Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) grant funded by the Korea government (MEST) (R11-2002-103).,, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1817-1737.62470
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Background : The aim of this study was to evaluate treatment outcomes in patients with thoracic actinomycosis and identify patient characteristics associated with unfavorable responses to antibiotic therapy.
Methods : A retrospective analysis was performed on 40 patients with pathologically confirmed thoracic actinomycosis.
Results : Initial surgical treatment was performed on 17 patients to control severe symptoms such as hemoptysis or rule out lung cancer. Sixteen (94%) patients were successfully treated, including three patients who did not receive postoperative antibiotics, and one patient died of a postoperative complication. The median duration of oral antibiotic therapy after surgery was 3 months. After the diagnosis of actinomycosis, 23 patients began antibiotic therapy. The median duration of oral antibiotic therapy was 5 months. Favorable treatment outcomes were achieved in 18 of these 23 patients (78%), while five (22%) showed unfavorable responses to antibiotic therapy. Surgery was successfully performed in these five patients. The patients with unfavorable responses to antibiotic therapy had a longer duration of symptoms prior to treatment (median, 10 months) as compared to patients with favorable responses (median, 2 months; P = 0.012).
Conclusions : Medical treatment failure is possible in patients with thoracic actinomycosis, and close monitoring is necessary in those who begin antibiotic therapy. In addition, surgical resection may be a valid option for patients who do not respond to antibiotic therapy, with the consideration of the age and comorbid conditions. |
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