What are the treatments for actinomycosis?
Actinomycosis is difficult to treat because of its dense tissue location. Surgery is often required to drain the lesion and/or to remove the site of infection. To kill the bacteria, standard therapy has included large doses of penicillin given through a vein daily for two to six weeks followed by six to twelve months of penicillin taken by mouth. Tetracycline, clindamycin, or erythromycin may be used instead of penicillin. The antibiotic therapy must be completed to ensure that the infection does not return. However, a report in 2004 on several cases of actinomycosis said that therapy depends on the individual case and that many patients today will be diagnosed in earlier stages of the disease. Sometimes, shorter courses of antibiotic treatment are effective, with close diagnostic x-ray monitoring. Hyperbaric oxygen (oxygen under high pressure) therapy in combination with the antibiotic therapy has been successful. Source: The Gale Group. Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed.
