Intrathoracic actinomycosis: The role of oral antibiotics

Abstract

Severe intrathoracic actinomycosis is usually treated initially with intravenous penicillin. We describe a patient with invasive intrathoracic actinomycosis who was dangerously ill but had a needle phobia and penicillin allergy. He recovered with second line oral antibiotics. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no documented evidence on the efficacy of second line oral antibiotics in the treatment of invasive thoracic actinomycosis. We suggest oral antibiotics should be considered for the treatment of severe intrathoracic actinomycosis.