Actinomycosis of the parotid gland: case series

Actinomycosis of the parotid gland is very rare. We sought to examine the clinical features, treatment methods, and treatment results of actinomycosis of the parotid gland in our hospital.

We retrospectively enrolled 5 patients with histopathologically identified actinomycosis of the parotid gland from January 2010 to May 2020.

This study included 3 male and 2 female subjects. All patients had a common complaint of the mass in the parotid gland. Skin necrosis was observed in one patient. However, skin necrosis and fistula track occurred in the other 2 patients after fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Based on the result of FNAC two cases of inflammation and abscess were identified. Four patients with suspicion of parotid tumors before surgery underwent parotidectomy, and one patient with consideration of parotid abscess underwent incision and drainage. After surgery, intravenous administration of antibiotics was performed for an average of 6 days and oral antibiotics were prescribed for about 2 months for patients with actinomycosis of the parotid gland.

In case of skin necrosis of the parotid lesion without evidence of a malignant tumor, or if FNAC does not reveal the presence of cancerous cells, and fistula tract or skin necrosis occurs after the FNAC, then actinomycosis of the parotid gland should be suspected. If the actinomycosis of the parotid gland was localized to the parotid gland and removed surgically, it would be sufficient to treat the patients with antibiotics for about 2 months while observing the clinical response.