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Case Reports
. 2008 Jun;46(6):2009-14.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.01706-07. Epub 2008 Mar 12.

Thoracic vertebral actinomycosis: Actinomyces israelii and Fusobacterium nucleatum

Hitoshi Honda  1 , Matthew J Bankowski, Eric H N Kajioka, Nalurporn Chokrungvaranon, Wesley Kim, Scott T Gallacher
Affiliations
Case Reports

Thoracic vertebral actinomycosis: Actinomyces israelii and Fusobacterium nucleatum

Hitoshi Honda et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

Actinomyces spp. are considered rare pathogens in today's medicine, especially with thoracic vertebral involvement. Classic actinomycosis (50%) presents as an oral-cervicofacial ("lumpy jaw") infection. This report describes a case of spinal cord compression caused by Actinomyces israelii with the coisolation of Fusobacterium nucleatum. There are limited numbers of similar cases.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
(A) Actinomyces israelii “molar tooth” appearance on sheep blood agar and microscopic morphology showing branching gram-positive bacilli; (B) Fusobacterium nucleatum (larger colony) and A. israelii (smaller colony) colony morphology on sheep blood agar and microscopic morphology showing fusiform gram-negative bacillus for F. nucleatum.
FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
(A) Actinomyces israelii “molar tooth” appearance on sheep blood agar and microscopic morphology showing branching gram-positive bacilli; (B) Fusobacterium nucleatum (larger colony) and A. israelii (smaller colony) colony morphology on sheep blood agar and microscopic morphology showing fusiform gram-negative bacillus for F. nucleatum.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Algorithm for the identification of gram-positive, non-spore-forming, branching/pleomorphic bacilli.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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