Intra-abdominal actinomycosis with hepatic pseudotumor and xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis in a 6-y-old boy

A pediatric case of xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis in the setting of Covid-19 and multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C)

Xanthogranulmatous pyelonephritis is a rare, chronic inflammatory pathology of the kidney. It most commonly arises in middle-aged females, but there are case reports and series described in the pediatric population. Here, we discuss the case of a 14 year old male who presented with xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis in the setting of Covid-19 and multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). As xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis often mimics other diseases that are more prevalent in the pediatric population, our case was only definitively diagnosed with histopathology after surgical resection. This report is novel in that, to our knowledge, it is the first to describe xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis in the setting of MIS-C.

A 60-Year Literature Review on Hepatic Actinomycosis

Hepatic actinomycosis (HA) is a rare infection with an indolent course, atypical clinical manifestations, nonspecific laboratory and imaging findings, and challenging diagnosis. We describe a case of a 35-year-old female who developed HA 2 weeks after gastrectomy. In addition, we analyzed clinical characteristics and outcome of 157 additional cases of HA identified in a 60-year literature review. Patients with HA were predominantly male (57%) and more than one-half were between 40 and 70 years of age. The infection was cryptogenic in 80.8% of cases. Risk factors for HA were identified in 63.1% of the patients. Clinical presentation included fever (57.7%), abdominal pain (52.1%), weight loss (45.1%), anorexia (27.5%), fatigue and chills (12.7% each), and malaise (12%) over a 2.35 ± 3.5 months period. Leukocytosis, elevated alkaline phosphatase, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein were the most frequent laboratory findings. Radiologic imaging revealed that the right lobe was more frequently affected (62.5%) with a single lesion found in two-thirds of cases. Diagnosis was achieved by histopathologic examination in 70.6% of cases. Cultures yielded Actinomyces in 45 instances, with A. israelii being the most frequent species. Less than one-half of the patients were treated only with antibiotics, while the others received combined medical and surgical treatment. The median duration of antibiotic therapy was 135 days. The presence of multiple lesions or solid tumor-like lesions (without liquefaction) was significantly associated with medical therapy alone. The outcome was favorable in most cases (94%). Although rarely encountered, HA should be considered in patients with a chronic or subacute inflammatory process of the liver to promptly diagnose and treat.

A systematic review of case reports of hepatic actinomycosis

Background

Hepatic Actinomycosis (HA) is one of the infections that causes disorders in patients when diagnosed untimely and inappropriately.

Methods

Case reports on HA in patients published between 2000 and April 2020 were gathered by carrying out a structured search through PubMed/Medline.

Results

Through a survey of the Medline database, 130 studies were identified and then, 64 cases with HA were included in the final analysis. Asia had the largest share of cases with 37.5% (24 reports), followed by Europe and the Americas. Affected patients were predominantly males (64%) and the overall mortality rate was 1% with only one male patient in his 50 s dying. Nearly all patients (92%) were immunocompetent. However, in four patients, the use of immunosuppressive medication led to depression of the immune system. Most of the patients (80%) experienced complications. In terms of the complications, the most frequent ones were previous history of abdominal surgery (32%) and foreign bodies in the abdominopelvic region (20%). Actinomyces israelii was the most common pathogen isolated from patients. Abdominal pain (66%), fever (62%), weight loss (48%), night sweat, malaise, and anorexia (14%) over about 3.1 months were the most frequently reported clinical symptoms. Extension to one or more surrounding organs was evident in 18 patients (28%). Histopathologic examination confirmed infection in 67% of the patients and samples obtained from liver puncture biopsy (32%) were most frequently used in diagnosis. Surgery or puncture drainage + anti-infection was the most common method to treat patients and penicillin, Amoxicillin, Doxycycline, and ampicillin were the most frequently used drugs to control infection.

Conclusion

HA should be considered in patients with a subacute or chronic inflammatory process of the liver. With accurate and timely diagnosis of infection, extensive surgery can be prevented.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13023-021-01821-5.

Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis with colesional actinomycosis in a 63-year-old man

Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis is an uncommon chronic destructive granulomatous disease of the kidney. A rare case of xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis with extrarenal extension that had coexistence of renal actinomycosis is described in this article.

Hepatic actinomycosis: Report of one case and analysis of 32 previously reported cases

Hepatic actinomycosis is rare, with few published cases. There are no characteristic clinical manifestations, and computed tomography (CT) shows mainly low-density images, making clinical diagnosis difficult, and leading to frequent misdiagnosis as primary liver cancer, metastatic liver cancer or liver abscess. Diagnosis normally requires examination of both the aetiology and pathology. This article reports one male patient aged 55 who was hospitalized because of repeated upper abdominal pain for more than 2 mo. He exhibited no chills, fever or yellow staining of the skin and sclera, and examination revealed no positive signs. The routine blood results were: haemoglobin 110 g/L, normal numbers of leukocytes and neutral leukocytes, serum albumin 32 g/L, negative serum hepatitis B markers and hepatitis C antibodies, normal tumour markers (alpha-fetoprotein and carcinoembryonic antigen). An abdominal CT scan revealed an 11.2 cm × 5.8 cm × 7.4 cm mass with an unclear edge in the left liver lobe. The patient was diagnosed as having primary liver cancer, and left lobe resection was performed. The postoperative pathological examination found multifocal actinomycetes in the hepatic parenchyma, which was accompanied by chronic suppurative inflammation. A focal abscess had formed, and large doses of sodium penicillin were administered postoperatively as anti-infective therapy. This article also reviews 32 cases reported in the English literature, with the aim of determining the clinical features and treatment characteristics of this disease, and providing a reference for its diagnosis and treatment.

Pulmonary actinomycosis as a rare cause of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor: a case report

Pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor encompasses a heterogeneous spectrum of reactive, infectious, and neoplastic entities. It is composed of spindle-shaped myofibroblastic cells in a background of inflammatory cells and collagen fibres. Actinomycosis is a bacterial infection. It infects the lower respiratory tracts by inhalation or aspiration of oropharyngeal or upper gastrointestinal materials. Only eight cases of pulmonary IMT associated with actinomycosis have been reported in the literature so far. This is the ninth case reported.

Actinomyces in chronic granulomatous disease: an emerging and unanticipated pathogen

BACKGROUND

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare inherited disease of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase system that causes defective production of toxic oxygen metabolites, impaired bacterial and fungal killing, and recurrent life-threatening infections, mostly by catalase-producing organisms. We report for the first time, to our knowledge, chronic infections with Actinomyces species in 10 patients with CGD. Actinomycosis is a chronic granulomatous condition that commonly manifests as cervicofacial, pulmonary, or abdominal disease, caused by slowly progressive infection with oral and gastrointestinal commensal Actinomyces species. Treatment of actinomycosis is usually simple in immunocompetent individuals, requiring long-term, high-dose intravenous penicillin, but is more complicated in those with CGD because of delayed diagnosis and an increased risk of chronic invasive or debilitating disease.

METHODS

Actinomyces was identified by culture, staining, 16S ribosomal DNA polymerase chain reaction, and/or a complement fixation test in 10 patients with CGD.

RESULTS

All 10 patients presented with a history of fever and elevated inflammatory signs without evident focus. Diagnosis was delayed and clinical course severe and protracted despite high-dose intravenous antibiotic therapy and/or surgery. These results suggest an unrecognized and unanticipated susceptibility to weakly pathogenic Actinomyces species in patients with CGD because these are catalase-negative organisms previously thought to be nonpathogenic in CGD.

CONCLUSIONS

Actinomycosis should be vigorously sought and promptly treated in patients with CGD presenting with uncommon and prolonged clinical signs of infection. Actinomycosis is a catalase-negative infection important to consider in CGD.

A childhood case of primary hepatic actinomycosis presenting with cutaneous fistula

Primary hepatic actinomycosis is extremely rare in children. Although the infection has the capability of extension to surrounding tissues or organs, involvement of the abdominal wall is infrequently reported even in adults. We present a childhood case of primary hepatic actinomycosis infiltrating the anterior abdominal wall and spontaneously draining through the skin.

Post varicella hepatic actinomycosis in a 5-year-old girl mimicking acute abdomen

Actinomycosis is an indolent, slowly progressive infection caused by gram-positive, anaerobic or microaerophilic bacteria. Hepatic involvement is rare and generally secondary to abdominal or thoracic actinomycosis. Hepatic actinomycosis in children may mimic a wide variety of diseases and thus make the diagnosis much more challenging. Here, we report a 5-year-old girl with apparently primary hepatic actinomycosis mimicking acute abdomen 2 weeks after varicella. The diagnosis was made by ultrasonic guided fine needle aspiration biopsy of a hypoechoic lesion of 3.5 cm diameter in the liver showing sulfur granules surrounded by neutrophils. Hepatic actinomycosis should be taken into account when evaluating acute abdomen symptoms in children.

Pediatric xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis masquerading as complex renal mass

We present a case of focal xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGP) in a pediatric patient. This case illustrates the variable presentation of the entity and the difficulty in making a preoperative diagnosis. In contrast to the usual diffuse form of XGP, the focal form permits less radical treatment in cases such as this one. This case, however, did not exhibit any of the usual features of XGP reported in large series, making preoperative planning problematic.

Cryptococcal Inflammatory Pseudotumors

"Inflammatory pseudotumors" (IPTs) embrace a heterogeneous spectrum of reactive, infective, and neoplastic entities, that are characterized by a clinical mass composed of a histologic proliferation of spindle cells in a background of inflammatory cells and collagen fibers. Although a spectrum of microorganisms have been identified in infective IPTs, mycobacterial infective IPTs are reported most commonly. We document 5 solitary cryptococcal IPTs, in 2 males and 3 females, aged 19 to 43 years, in the soft tissues of the anterior chest wall, thigh, and arm. All were HIV-positive and had been treated for disseminated cutaneous and/or meningeal cryptococcosis with antifungal therapy, 6 to 12 months earlier. The specimens demonstrated a storiform arrangement of plump spindle cells, in addition to spindle and polygonal cells that were arranged in a haphazard manner. Background lymphocytes, plasma cells, and fibrosis were noted, in addition to scattered giant cells and focal necrosis. On high-power examination, Cryptococcus neoformans yeasts were identified within and between vacuolated spindle and polygonal cells on routine and special stains, confirming cryptococcal IPTs. Immunophenotyping of the spindle cells confirmed a mixed histiocytic and myofibroblastic lineage, with a predominance of the former. In documenting 5, hitherto unreported, pseudotumoral spindle cell reactions to C. neoformans, we not only highlight the need for intense appraisal of all IPTs for infective agents on routine and special stains and investigations, but also postulate that a complex host-fungus interaction, coupled with an exuberant, myofibroblastic response to incomplete therapy, are the pathogenetic drive for the pseudotumoral presentation.

Actinomycosis: a differential diagnosis for appendicitis. A case report and review of the literature

Actinomyces is a genus of gram-positive anaerobic or microaerophilic bacteria that colonize the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts and the female genital tract. These organisms cause disseminated disease in the mouth, the respiratory system, and rarely in the gastrointestinal tract. The diseases produced by Actinomyces species result from the disruption of the barriers that allow the dissemination of the bacteria through the surrounding tissues. The appendix is often a nidus of Actinomyces infection, but a prompt diagnosis cannot be made without the results of histologic examination of the appendix. The treatment of choice for actinomycosis of the appendix is the high-dose parenteral administration of penicillin G for 2 weeks immediately after the diagnosis has been made and continued oral treatment with that agent for at least the next 6 months. We present the case of a 13-year-old adolescent boy with actinomycosis of the appendix that was identified by histologic examination after appendectomy.

A case of Papillon-Lefevre syndrome associated with xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis and hepatitis

Papillon-Lefevre syndrome (PLS) is an autosomally recessive palmoplantar keratoderma accompanied by psoriasiform plaques on the extensor surfaces of extremities and leading to premature loss of deciduous and permanent teeth by progressive periodontitis. Patients with PLS may exhibit mental retardation, intracranial ectopic calcifications, nail dystrophies and a tendency to various infectious disorders, in addition to skin and oral findings. Herein, we report a 26-year-old man with PLS, who had experienced xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis and hepatitis during childhood and adolescence. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of PLS associated with xanthogranulomatous inflammation.

Xanthogranulomatous funiculitis and orchiepididymitis: report of 2 cases with immunohistochemical study and literature review

Two patients with xanthogranulomatous inflammation are described, one with involvement of the spermatic cord and the other with 1 testicle and epididymis affected. To our knowledge, only 12 cases of xanthogranulomatous orchiepididymitis have been reported previously, one of which also presented a xanthogranulomatous funiculitis. Clinically, our patients presented with spermatic cord enlargement (case 1) and chronic orchitis that did not respond to treatment with antibiotics (case 2). Histopathologically, both cases showed extensive xanthogranulomatous inflammation with numerous foamy macrophages that were associated with colonies of microorganisms suggestive of actinomyces in case 1. Additionally, Escherichia coli was cultured from the surgical specimen of case 2. The possible underlying pathology may be diabetes in case 1 and phlebitis associated with chronic orchitis in case 2. Differential diagnoses with other lesions that are rich in macrophages, such as malakoplakia, and those testicular neoplasms without serologic tumor markers are discussed.

Liver resection in cases of isolated hepatic actinomycosis: case report and review of the literature

Hepatic actinomycosis is an uncommon entity that forms communicating abscesses and fistulae. We report a 53-y-old immunocompetent male patient with hepatic actinomycosis. Symptoms included intermittent fever, abdominal pain, right upper quadrant tenderness and jaundice. A hepatic tumour mass was found on abdominal sonography and computerized tomography. Two preoperative percutaneous core biopsies of the mass were not diagnostic. The above findings were highly suggestive for liver abscess or purulent primary liver neoplasm. Treatment with intravenous antibiotics was continued for 20 d, but both symptoms and liver ultrasound findings remained unchanged. The patient underwent exploratory laparotomy and right posterior segmentectomy of the liver. Pathological examination of the surgically removed specimen disclosed hepatic actinomycosis. Following operation the patient remains in excellent condition without evidence of recurrence.

Pseudo-colonic carcinoma caused by abdominal actinomycosis: report of two cases

BACKGROUND

Abdominal actinomycosis is an infrequent chronic, suppurative infection caused by the aerobic gram-positive bands Actinomyces israelii.

PATIENT PRESENTATION

We report two cases of abdominal actinomycosis, simulating colon cancer. Before operation, both patients presented with abdominal pain and a palpable mass. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed an infiltrating irregular mass in the cecum and transverse colon, respectively. Surgical intervention was then performed under the impression of colonic malignancy.

CONCLUSION

Postoperatively, pathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of abdominal actinomycosis in which the characteristic finding of sulfur granules in the resected specimen was demonstrated. After surgery, the patients continued antibiotic treatment with ampicillin for 2 months at our OPD and had no signs of recurrence 1 year after surgery.

Actinomycosis: A multidisciplinary approach to a clinical problem

Actinomycosis is caused by microorganisms of the Actinomyces species, found in the oral cavity, gastrointestinal and genital tract. Infection by Actimomyces species mainly causes chronic supurative disease of the oral cervico-facial, thoracic, and abdominal regions. Clinical manifestations have been described at every level, but the disease is relatively rarely diagnosed. The causative agent is considered to be an opportunistic pathogen associated with infection, trauma, surgical procedures, or associated with a neoplasm or foreign body. Symptoms include intermittent fever, weight loss abdominal or thoracic pain, pseudotumor and tumor masses, and local symptoms from the infected area. Pseudotumor and tumor masses are diagnosed by ultrasonography and computerized tomography. The diagnosis is confirmed by the presence of a causative agent in biopsy or surgically acquired samples. The treatment includes the administration of high doses of antibiotics (penicillin, amoxicillin, ceftriaxone) for at least 6-12 months, as well as surgical tretment. Penicillin is a drug of choice. This infection is often polymicrobial, so that antibiotic therapy should include agents that act against the associated pathogens. Treatment outcome and prognosis in these three cases were excellent, despite the prolonged course of the extensive disease.