A Case of Pelvic Actinomycosis Associated with Intrauterine Contraceptive Device.

Lee, Seung Hun; Park, Jin Wan; Myong, Na Hye

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2002;45(3):516-519.
Published online March 1, 2002.

A Case of Pelvic Actinomycosis Associated with Intrauterine Contraceptive Device.

Seung Hun Lee, Jin Wan Park, Na Hye Myong

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Dan Kook University, Cheonan, Korea.
²Department of Anatomic Pathology, College of Medicine, Dan Kook University, Cheonan, Korea.

Abstract

Actinomycosis is a subacute-to-chronic infection caused by gram-positive, anaerobic bacteria. Actino- mycetes reside in oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, female genital tract as normal flora, but may provoke an opportunistic infection under certain circumstances, resulting in contiguous spread, suppurative and granu- lomatous inflammatory reaction, and formation of multiple abscesses. Abdominal and pelvic actinomycosis in women are related to a history of abdominal surgery or intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD) insertion and have variable nonspecific symptoms that make an initial diagnosis difficult. We experienced a case of pelvic actinomycosis related to IUD that diagnosed pathologically after laparotomy.

Key Words: Pelvic actinomycosis, Intrauterine contraceptive device