Abdominal Actinomycosis Presenting as Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Introduction

Abdominal actinomycosis is often difficult to diagnose because of the low index of suspicion, unusual clinical manifestations, and difficulty in culturing Actinomyces. We describe a patient with anemia, multiple ulcers in the ileocecal area, and massive gastrointestinal bleeding, who required surgical resection of the colon. The diagnosis was made on histopathological examination of the resected specimen. This is the first reported case of actinomycotic ileocecal ulceration leading to gastrointestinal bleeding. Though abdominal actinomycotic infection is rare, the chances of cure are excellent after the diagnosis has been made.

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