Lemierre's syndrome: forgotten, but not absent.

Abstract

Lemierre's syndrome is rare, with no known reported cases in the Caribbean thus far. We highlight a case of a young woman who presented with diabetic ketoacidosis precipitated by oral pharyngeal sepsis, whose condition rapidly deteriorated within 24 hours requiring ventilation and administration of antibiotics. Her sepsis was accompanied by internal jugular vein thrombosis in keeping with a diagnosis of Lemierre's syndrome, which was treated aggressively with antibiotics, intensive care and mechanical ventilatory support in the intensive care unit. She made a full recovery. Though this is the first reported case in the Caribbean of this 'forgotten disease', it must not be forgotten because prognosis and outcome are markedly improved with prompt and aggressive treatment.

• Authors: Mandreker Bahall, Stanley Giddings, Krishni Bahall
• Journal: BMJ case reports (BMJ Case Rep) Vol. 2017 (Aug 07 2017) ISSN: 1757-790X [Electronic] England
• PMID: 28784905 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)
• Copyright: © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Chemical References

• Anti-Bacterial Agents

Topics

• Adult
• Anti-Bacterial Agents (therapeutic use)
• Female
• Humans
• Jugular Veins (microbiology)
• Lemierre Syndrome (complications, drug therapy)
• Pharyngitis (drug therapy, microbiology)
• Sepsis (drug therapy, microbiology)
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Venous Thrombosis (microbiology)