Abstract
Mandibular actinomycosis is an uncommon disease caused by Actinomyces israelii. Actinomycosis infection typically manifests as a chronic disease resulting in multiple abscesses, firm soft tissue mass, and presence of sulfur granules in exudates or tissues. A few reports have provided imaging findings of actinomycosis in the head and neck, but computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and scintigraphy of mandibular actinomycosis have not been fully described. Here, we report a case of mandibular actinomycosis with CT, MRI, and scintigraphy. The purpose of this article is to characterize the CT, MRI, and scintigraphy findings in cases of actinomycosis. Contrast-enhanced CT of the masticator space showed heterogeneous enhancement and a nonenhancing portion, suggestive of necrotic foci. Bone tissue algorithm CT showed an osteolytic lesion in the ramus of the left mandible only. On post-contrast T1-weighted images, the masticator space showed heterogeneous enhancement and nonenhancing portion, suggestive of necrotic foci. Bone scintigraphy revealed monostatic involvement of the mandible with a homogeneous intense uptake pattern. Gallium scintigraphy revealed significantly increased uptake in the left side of the face. These findings can be helpful for differentiating actinomycosis from other tumors of the mandible.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Sasaki Y, Kaneda T, Uyeda JW, Okada H, Sekiya K, Suemitsu M, et al. Actinomycosis in the mandible: CT and MR findings. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2014;35:390–4.
Park JK, Lee HK, Ha HK, Choi HY, Choi CG. Cervicofacial actinomycosis: CT and MR imaging findings in seven patients. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2003;24:331–5.
Gannepalli A, Ayinampudi BK, Baghirath PV, Reddy GV. Actinomycotic osteomyelitis of maxilla presenting as oroantral fistula: a rare case report. Case Rep Dent. 2015. doi:10.1155/2015/689240.
Smith MH, Harms PW, Newton DW, Lebar B, Edwards SP, Aronoff DM. Mandibular actinomyces osteomyelitis complicating florid cemento-osseous dysplasia: case report. BMC Oral Health. 2011;11:21.
Belmont MJ, Behar PM, Wax MK. Atypical presentations of actinomycosis. Head Neck. 1999;21:264–8.
Miller M, Haddad AJ. Cervicofacial actinomycosis. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endodontol. 1998;85:496–508.
Abbaszadeh H, Sheibani MS. Actinomycotic osteomyelitis of mandible. J Craniofac Surg. 2016;27:e452–4.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Yoshihiko Sasaki, Junya Ono, Tohru Akashiba, Masutaka Mizutani, Yasuo Okada, Akira Yamaguchi, Makoto Tsuchimochi, and Ichiro Ogura declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Human rights statement and informed consent
All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964 and later versions. Informed consent was obtained from the patient for being included in the study.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sasaki, Y., Ono, J., Akashiba, T. et al. Diagnostic value of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and scintigraphy in diagnosing actinomycosis of the mandible. Oral Radiol 33, 241–245 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11282-016-0268-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11282-016-0268-2