Esophageal actinomycosis – a rare cause of odynophagia in an HIV patient

Ben Thiravetyan MD, Tulaton Sodsri MD, Chanokporn Puchongmart MD, Jacob Nichols MD

ABSTRACT

Odynophagia is a common complaint among individuals living with HIV, with candidiasis being the predominant cause. We present a case of 38-year-old man with poorly controlled HIV who presented with odynophagia and oropharyngeal candidiasis that is refractory to antifungal therapy. Further investigations showed esophageal candidiasis with esophageal ulcers, which pathology revealed extensive filamentous bacteria in addition to fungal hyphae. Diagnosis of esophageal candidiasis superimposed with actinomycosis was made, and he responded well to amoxicillin in addition to fluconazole therapy.

Keywords: Esophageal actinomycosis, Actinomycosis, Actinomyces, HIV


Article citation: Thiravetyan B, Sodsri T, Puchongmart C, Nichols J. Esophageal actinomycosis – a rare cause of odynophagia in an HIV patient. The Southwest Journal of Medicine 2025;13(57):49–52
From: Department of Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas
Submitted: 7/6/2025
Accepted: 9/10/2025
Conflicts of interest: none
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.