Is appendectomy always adequate for treatment?: Clinical manifestations of isolated actinomycosis in the appendix

Isolated appendiceal actinomycosis is a rare chronic progressive suppurative infection. Its causative agent in humans is a Gram-positive saprophytic anaerobic bacteria, Actinomyces israelii. We present a case of an acute appendicitis that developed in a 54-year-old woman due to isolated appendiceal actinomycosis. Diagnosis of appendiceal actinomycosis causing acute appendicitis is generally performed postoperatively histopathologically, and appendectomy alone is not sufficient for treatment. It is an important factor that should be considered by clinicians that definitive treatment of the infection is possible by appropriate antibiotic use.