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Article in Japanese
A case of pulmonary actinomycosis diagnosed by transbronchial biopsy in a healthy subject with spontaneous remission
Chinatsu Nishida Kazuhiro Yatera Shuya Nagata Toshinori Kawanami Hiroshi Ishimoto Hiroshi Mukae
Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan
Pulmonary actinomycosis in healthy subjects is a rare entity, and its spontaneous remission is very rare. Here we report a case of pulmonary actinomycosis in a healthy subject who was diagnosed by transbronchial lung biopsy and showed spontaneous remission without treatment. A 57-year-old Japanese man with no medical history visited our hospital because of a nonproductive cough of several weeks. His chest X-ray film and computed tomography showed mass-like consolidation with a cavitation in the left upper lobe and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Laboratory data showed a slight elevation of C-reactive protein. Transbronchial lung biopsy specimens taken from the left B1+2 showed actinomycosis in pulmonary parenchyma. His clinical symptoms, chest X-ray, and computed tomography findings, spontaneously improved with no medication within a half-year, and no exacerbation has been observed for more than 5 years. Spontaneous remission of pulmonary actinomycosis in a healthy subject is very rare. Pulmonary actinomycosis is a rare entity; however, clinicians should be aware of this disease in cases with pulmonary nodules and mass opacities.
Pulmonary actinomycosis Transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) Spontaneous remission
Received 8 Jul 2011 / Accepted 24 Nov 2011
AJRS, 1(3): 225-230, 2012