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Published on: September 20, 2018
Musculoskeletal actinomycosis in children: a case report
Yani Mou1, Qin Jiao2, Yizhong Wang1,3
1Institute of Pediatric Infection, Immunity and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Children's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Background:
Actinomycosis is a rare infectious disease caused by Actinomyces, especially in children. Here, we present a case of musculoskeletal actinomycosis in a 5-year-old girl from China.
Case Presentation:
A 5-year-old girl presented with recurrent episodes of fever, pain, erythema, swelling, and festering sores on the right lower extremity, and pus was discharged from a sinus in the right foot. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggested subcutaneous soft tissue infection and osteomyelitis of the right crus. A bacterial culture of pus extracted from a festering sore on the right popliteal fossa detected the growth of Actinomycetes europaeus. The patient was cured with 7 weeks of treatment with intravenous ampicillin-sulbactam, followed by 6 weeks of treatment with oral amoxicillin-clavulanate with surgical debridement and drainage. There were no symptoms of recurrence during the 15-month period of follow-up.
Conclusions:
Pediatric actinomycosis is a rare and challenging infectious disease. Early accurate diagnosis and optimal surgical debridement are important for the management of pediatric actinomycosis.
