Lemierre's syndrome: A rare cause of sepsis presenting with an absence of throat symptoms

Abstract

A 16-year-old boy presented to hospital with a 6-day history of diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain. During his admission he was found to be hypotensive, tachycardic and persistently feverish. Blood cultures taken on admission isolated Fusobacterium necrophorum. CT scanning of his neck showed a non-occlusive thrombus of the right internal jugular vein and a small right parapharyngeal abscess. CT scans of the chest and abdomen revealed multiple pulmonary abscesses, bilateral pleural effusions and splenomegaly. Treatment consisted of an unfractionated heparin infusion and intravenous antibiotics. A right-sided intercostal drain was inserted for a complex right-sided empyema. He subsequently developed a left-sided pleural effusion which was treated with a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) pleurodesis procedure. His fever resolved after his VATS pleurodesis procedure 3 weeks after initial presentation. Clinically he made a slow recovery but now is improved after 6 weeks of intravenous antibiotics and was discharged home.