title: Actinomycosis of the vocal cord: a case report.
abstract: A 30-year-old Chinese lady was admitted for hoarseness of voice of one month's duration. Clinical examination revealed a granuloma of the left vocal cord while chest X-ray showed an opacity in the lower lobe of the right lung. The provisional clinical diagnosis was tuberculous laryngitis. A biopsy of the vocal cord lesion revealed inflamed tissue with actinomycotic colonies. Cultures and sputum smears did not reveal any tuberculous bacilli. The patient responded to a 6-week course of intravenous C-penicillin, regaining her voice on day 5 of commencement of antibiotics. A subsequent CT scan of the neck and thorax revealed multiple non-cavitating nodular lesions in both lung fields, felt to be indicative of resolving actinomycosis. She was discharged well after completion of treatment. It was felt that this is a case of primary actinomycosis of the vocal cord with probably secondary pulmonary actinomycosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Hospital Sultanah Aminah Johor Baru.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Fernandez
mesh_terms: D000190:Actinomyces / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D000196:Actinomycosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006099:Granuloma / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D007827:Laryngitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D010406:Penicillins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014387:Tuberculosis, Laryngeal / Q000175:diagnosis; D014827:Vocal Cords / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D010406:Penicillins