Abstract

Background: 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.

Case: 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.

Conclusions: 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.

摘要

背景：熟悉导致自满。一种喉咙痛的情况可能开始听起来像另一种。然而，即使是普通的病毒和细菌感染也会导致严重的后遗症。如果临床医生在鉴别诊断中不考虑它，就无法做出诊断。

案例：描述了一名 19 岁的败血症男大学生的表现 - 以及随后的住院治疗。尽管有短暂的间歇性改善，但他在喉咙痛一周后出现缺氧，最终通过血培养和高级影像学诊断出患有 Lemierre 综合征（化脓性颈内静脉血栓性静脉炎）。

结论：虽然罕见，但 Lemierre 综合征的死亡率很高。它应被视为头颈部感染的紧急并发症，尤其是在年轻人中。