Silverberg Benjamin, Sharon Melinda J, Makati Devan, Mott Mariah, Rose William D
Division of Ambulatory Care, Department of Emergency Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, USA.
J Am Coll Health. 2023 Feb-Mar;71(2):343-347. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2021.1899190. Epub 2021 Mar 24.
Familiarity breeds complacency. One case of sore throat can start to sound like another. However, even common viral and bacterial infections can lead to serious sequelae. Clinicians cannot make a diagnosis if they do not consider it in their differential. The presentation - and subsequent hospitalization - of a septic 19 year-old male college student is described. Despite brief interval improvement, he became hypoxic one week after developing a sore throat and was ultimately diagnosed with Lemierre's syndrome (septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein) via blood cultures and advanced imaging. Though rare, Lemierre's syndrome carries a high mortality rate. It should be considered an emergent complication of head and neck infections, particularly in young adults.
