A Mass Shadow on Chest X-Ray in a 40-Year-Old Man: What’s Your Diagnosis?

Abstract

A 40-year-old man presented recurrent cough and bloody sputum for 4 months. Chest X-ray showed a large mass in the right upper lobe. Histopathologic examination of tissue from percutaneous biopsy of the lesion revealed actinomycotic granules and branching filamentous bacteria, and therefore pulmonary actinomycosis was diagnosed. These findings suggest that pulmonary actinomycosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of a mass on a chest X-ray film.