Lemierre's syndrome

A potentially fatal complication that may require vascular surgical intervention

Charles, Kirk MD
Flinn, William R. MD
Neschis, David G. MD

Division of Vascular Surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Md

Reprint requests: David G. Neschis, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center, 22 South Greene Street, Room N4W66, Baltimore, MD 21201 (e-mail: [email protected]).

Competition of interest: none.

Presented at the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the Eastern Vascular Society, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 5-7, 2005.

Submitted May 27, 2005; accepted July 7, 2005

Journal of Vascular Surgery 42(5):p 1023-1025, November 2005.

Septic phlebitis of the internal jugular vein, Lemierre's syndrome, is extremely rare. However, Lemierre's syndrome may cause septic pulmonary emboli or result in fatal systemic sepsis, or both, if a timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment are not provided. We present a case of Lemierre's syndrome that occurred in an otherwise healthy young man. In this case, progression to a moribund state was rapid, and surgical intervention proved lifesaving.