Lemierre syndrome

Abstract

Lemierre syndrome is an uncommon disease which commonly arise from acute bacterial oropharyngeal infection. This disease was first described in 1900 by Courmont and Cade Lemierre. It is commonly caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum1. Lemierre syndrome has been reported to be serious and potentially fatal in the preantibiotic era1. It is characterized by an oropharyngeal infection leading to secondary septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein with embolization to the lungs and other organs. The incidence has become relatively rare at present and is usually only diagnosed when unsuspected culture results are available1. We report a case of Lemierre syndrome which was recently diagnosed in our centre.