Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0017168 (gastroesophageal reflux disease)
 11,783 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Actinomycosis is an infectious disease caused by anaerobic gram-positive, non-spore forming bacteria of the genus Actinomyces that affects the oropharynx, digestive tract, and genitalia. Thoracic actinomycosis may affect the respiratory tract and the pleura, even extending to the chest wall. Pulmonary actinomycosis occurs in immunocompetent persons during the fourth and fifth decades of life, with greater prevalence in men, and is generally due to Actinomyces israelii or A meyeri. It is frequently misdiagnosed as primary or metastatic lung cancer or conventional lung infections (eg, tuberculosis). The accepted predisposing factors for bronchopulmonary actinomycosis are poor dental hygiene, alcoholism and various chronic debilitating diseases, hiatus hernia, and gastro-oesophageal reflux. We report an interesting case of pulmonary actinomycosis presenting with haemoptysis, associated with achlasia cardia, and treated as tuberculosis.
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PMID:Haemoptysis in a patient of achalasia cardia: pulmonary actinomycosis, not tuberculosis. 2238 59

Actinomycosis is a rare, chronic and slowly progressive granulomatous disease caused by Actinomyces spp., a Gram-positive anaerobic bacterium that rarely affects the esophagus. Although this infection is uncommon, it has been reported in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals. The infection is often misdiagnosed because it can mimic other pathological conditions (like neoplasms and candidiasis), and Actinomyces is difficult to isolate because it requires specific growth conditions. However, actinomycosis has a favorable course if the microbiological diagnosis is timely. We report a case of esophageal actinomycosis in an immunocompetent 23-year-old man. The patient was admitted with symptoms of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), that had subsequently worsened. Histological and microbiological investigations revealed the presence of Actinomyces spp. A review of the literature regarding the clinical features, diagnosis, and management of this infection is also discussed.
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PMID:A case report of esophageal actinomycosis in an immunocompetent patient and review of the literature. 3078 7