[Lemierre syndrome: a diagnosis to keep in mind]

Service de médecine 2, Département de médecine interne, Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève.

Lemierre syndrome (also called post-anginal sepsis or necrobacillosis) is an uncommon complication of oropharyngeal infections for which early recognition and aggressive therapy is mandatory, since it is potentially life-threatening. Due to it's rarity, with a prevalence of 0.8 cases per million in the general population, many physicians are unfamiliar with this disorder. This is attested by the fact that diagnosis most often relies on bacteriological grounds. We report the case of a patient whose diagnosis of thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein was made by the emergency physicians based upon clinical presentation, allowing for prompt initiation of adequate antibiotherapy. The aim of this report is to enhance general practitioner's and emergency physicians' awareness of this uncommon disorder, which should always be suspected in case of sepsis following an oropharyngeal infection.

PMID: 15631168 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]