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Abstract
Actinomyces israelii usually causes chronic suppurative and granulomatous infections. Actinomyces bacteraemia is very rare but has been reported for A. viscosus, A. odontolyticus and A. naeslundii due to periodontal disease. We present a rare case of A. israelii bacteraemia.
A 55‐year‐old male with history of metastatic pancreatic cancer on chemotherapy through a portacath was admitted with sepsis with fever/tachycardia and worsening abdominal pain. Four sets of blood cultures grew A. israelii bacteria. The patient died from cardiopulmonary arrest within a week of being started on broad‐spectrum antibiotics. Negative blood cultures were never obtained, and the source of the bacteraemia could not be ascertained.
A. israelii bacteraemia described in this case is very rare. Determining the source of the bacteraemia would have been important in deciding the modality and length of treatment plan. However, the lack of such evidence in our case leaves these questions unanswered.
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