Abstract
A 14-year-old boy was admitted for his fever and right lower abdominal pain. He was found in computed tomography to have a mass at an ileocaecal lesion, and laboratory tests revealed leukocytosis and positive CRP. At first we diagnosed appendicitis with an appendical mass, and carried out an emergency operation. On laparotomy, the mass was found to be a tumor of the caecum, and we suspected malignant lymphoma, but intraoperative frozen section biopsy confirmed its benign nature. Ileocaecal resection was done. A colony of actinomyces was found in the specimen after a pathological examination. To our knowledge, ileocaecal actinomycosis in childhood has been reported in only 12 cases including this report in Japan. We experienced such a case of abdominal actinomycosis in childhood. The correct preoperative definitive diagnosis was not made in any case. In conclusion, actinomycosis should be considered in the management of an abdominal mass of unknown origin.
