Kushawaha Anurag, Popalzai Muhammed, El-Charabaty Elie, Mobarakai Neville
Department of Medicine, Staten Island University Hospital, 475 Seaview Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10305, USA.
Cases J. 2009 Mar 10;2:6397. doi: 10.1186/1757-1626-0002-0000006397.
Lemierre's syndrome is a rare disorder of young adults caused by the anaerobic bacterium, Fusobacterium necrophorum and occasionally by other Fusobacterium species (F. nucleatum, F. mortiferum and F. varium etc). The condition is characterized by a primary oropharyngeal infection with evidence of septic thrombophlebitis, exhibited by positive blood cultures, clinical or radiographic evidence of internal jugular vein thrombosis, and at least one metastatic focus. The incidence of Lemierre's syndrome is reported to be nearly one in a million. In the pre-antibiotic era, Lemierre's syndrome followed a fulminant, often fatal course. During the 1960s and 1970s, the syndrome was rarely reported when penicillin was commonly prescribed to treat oropharyngeal infections. Today, antibiotic-resistant organisms are a major concern, thus causing more prudent prescribing of antibiotics. We present a case report of a 27-year-old man with worsening pharyngitis, which illustrates that subsequent reemergence of this often forgotten disease may become more common in clinical setting.
勒米尔综合征是一种在年轻人中较为罕见的疾病，由坏死梭杆菌这种厌氧菌引起，偶尔也可由其他梭杆菌属菌种（如具核梭杆菌、死亡梭杆菌和可变梭杆菌等）导致。该病的特征是原发性口咽感染伴有脓毒性血栓性静脉炎的证据，表现为血培养阳性、颈内静脉血栓形成的临床或影像学证据以及至少一个转移病灶。据报道，勒米尔综合征的发病率约为百万分之一。在抗生素出现之前的时代，勒米尔综合征病情凶险，往往会致命。在20世纪60年代和70年代，由于当时常用青霉素治疗口咽感染，该综合征很少被报道。如今，耐抗生素微生物成为一个主要问题，因此抗生素的处方更加谨慎。我们报告一例27岁男性咽炎病情加重的病例，这表明这种常被遗忘的疾病在临床环境中可能会再次出现且更为常见。
