Cervical spondylitis and spinal abscess due to Actinomyces meyeri

• Main Authors: Alexandre Duvignaud, Emmanuel Ribeiro, Daniel Moynet, Maïté Longy-Boursier, Denis Malvy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2014-01-01
• Series: Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1413867013002390

Human actinomycosis with involvement of the spine is a rare condition although it has been first described a long time ago. It is probably underrecognized since its clinical presentation is often misleading and accurate bacteriological diagnosis is challenging. We herein report a rare case of cervical actinomycosis with paravertebral abscess and spondylitis imputed to an infection by Actinomyces meyeri in a 52-year-old immunocompetent Caucasian man. A. meyeri should be considered as a potential cause for subacute or chronic spondylitis, even in immunocompetent subjects. Modern diagnostic tools such as Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption–Ionization Time of Flight mass spectrometry and 16S rRNA sequencing are efficient for accurate microbiological identification. Keywords: Actinomyces, Spondylitis, MALDI–TOF mass spectrometry, 16S rRNA