title: Actinomycosis. A cause of pulmonary and mediastinal mass lesions in children.
abstract: Two patients with intrathoracic actinomycosis were examined. One child was asymptomatic and had a slowly expanding lesion in the left upper lobe. The other child had a chronic illness with back pain, weight loss, amenorrhea, and a posterior mediastinal mass. Establishing the cause of these lesions and making the distinction between a neoplastic process and infection were particularly difficult in both cases. Intrathoracic actinomycosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary and mediastinal mass lesions.
mesh_terms: D000196:Actinomycosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000382:microbiology; D000293:Adolescent; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000382:microbiology; D008477:Mediastinal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000382:microbiology; D011859:Radiography