Cervical spondylitis and spinal abscess due to Actinomyces meyeri

Human actinomycosis with involvement of the spine is a rare condition although it has been first described a long time ago. It is probably underrecognized since its clinical presentation is often misleading and accurate bacteriological diagnosis is challenging. We herein report a rare case of cervical actinomycosis with paravertebral abscess and spondylitis imputed to an infection by Actinomyces meyeri in a 52-year-old immunocompetent Caucasian man. A. meyeri should be considered as a potential cause for subacute or chronic spondylitis, even in immunocompetent subjects. Modern diagnostic tools such as Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption–Ionization Time of Flight mass spectrometry and 16S rRNA sequencing are efficient for accurate microbiological identification.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Duvignaud,Alexandre, Ribeiro,Emmanuel, Moynet,Daniel, Longy-Boursier,Maïté, Malvy,Denis
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases 2014
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-86702014000100106
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