Lemierre's syndrome: a rare disease, but not forgotten

Background: Lemierre's syndrome is a rare disease with different clinical and microbiological criteria. Without adequate treatment mortality is high. It often concerns healthy adolescents who present with common and usually harmless complaints such as fever and sore throat. Case description: We describe a 19-year-old male who was admitted to our hospital with a septic shock after a few days of fever and a sore throat. He was admitted to our intensive care unit. Further examination showed a jugular vein thrombosis and blood cultures showed Fusobacterium necrophorum; a classic presentation of Lemierre's syndrome. However, a jugular vein thrombosis is not a requirement for the diagnosis.

Conclusion: We recommend considering Lemierre's syndrome when a young adult presents with fever and a sore throat. Early recognition of Lemierre's syndrome is very important to decrease complications and mortality.