ACTINOMYCOSIS OF THE MEDIASTINUM WITH OES OPHAGOTRACHEAL FISTULA - A CASE-REPORT

Before antibiotics were available, actinomycosis was the most commonly diagnosed ''fungal disease'' of the lung because of its morphological similarity to true fungi. At that time actinomycosis presented a fair ly typical clinical picture of empyema thoracis and sinus tracts in th e chest wall. Nowadays it has become a rare infectious disease that is usually caused by the bacterium Actinomyces israelii and is amenable to treatment by most antibiotics available today. The following report describes the case of a 59-year-old man with an uncommon mediastinal actinomycosis that caused an oesophagotracheal fistula. This complicat ion may develop due to the necrotizing inflammatory process that is ty pical for actinomycosis. With regard to the literature, the clinical m anifestations of the disease and diagnostic and therapeutic considerat ions are discussed.