Acute Abdomen Secondary to Colonic Perforation: Atypical Presentation of Actinomyces Infection - Case Report

Abdominal actinomycosis is a chronic suppurative infectious disease caused by the gram positive anaerobic bacteria, Actinomyces. It is usually a non aggressive infection with a benign course if specific antibiotic treatment is administrated. Surgical treatment should be reserved for complications or impossibility to exclude malignancy. Nevertheless, preoperative diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion. Life-risk complication is an uncommon form of presentation. We report a case of a healthy 24-year-old man, who presented with an ileocolic mass mickmicking a perforated tumour. A right hemicolectomy was performed with an uneventful recovery. The histopathology study of the surgical specimen showed actinomyces infection. Patient received oral amoxicillin for six months.