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  • Title: Systemic Actinomyces infection. A potential complication of intrauterine contraceptive devices.
    Author: de la Monte SM, Gupta PK, White CL.
    Journal: JAMA; 1982 Oct 15; 248(15):1876-7. PubMed ID: 7120609.
    Abstract:
    Infections caused by Actinomyces organisms have been demonstrated to occur in association with IUD use. Uterine actinomycosis infection is usually superficial, but it is potentially invasive. It may prove fatal. When Actinomyces is detected in a vaginal Papanicolaou smear, establishment of the correct diagnosis followed by IUD removal and appropriate antibiotic therapy are recommended. A case history is presented of a 28 year old woman who had been using an IUD and who had systemic Actinomyces infection and a brain abscess develop several years after removal of her uterus and fallopian tubes. The woman was referred to the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in 1977 for evaluation of headaches and grand mal seizures. 4 years earlier, in 1973, she had been seen at another hospital with a recent weight loss of 18 kg. She was found to have a tubo-ovarian abscess, for which she underwent a hysterectomy, bilateral salpingectomy, and unilateral oophorectomy. At the time of surgery, an IUD was in place. A histopathological diagnosis of botryomycosis tubo-ovarian abscess was made on submitted tissues. She received no antibiotic therapy. In 1975, pulmonary infiltrates developed that were attributed to bronchopneumonia. She was treated with a short course of tetracycline hydrochloride. Later that year she was thought to have sarcoidosis and was treated for 1 year with several doses of prednisone. Clinically, her condition remained stable until March 1977, when a pyogenic subcostal abscess was drained. In July 1977, she had headache, dizziness, generalized seizures, and an incomplete right homonymous hemianopsia develop. A craniotomy for excision and drainage of an abscess was performed. The presence of Actinomyces israelii in brain tissue was confirmed by direct immunoflourescence using specific antiserum. It was confirmed that Actinomyces had been present at the time of her 1st surgical procedure. She was treated with high doses of intravenous penicillin G potassium for the first 4 weeks, followed by lower doses of oral penicillin V potassium for an additional 15 months. She recovered completely, except for a persistent right homonymous hemianopsia. The case illustrates that systemic dissemination and potentially life threatening complications of uterine actinomycosis can occur if the infection is unrecognized and/or inadequately treated.
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