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DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1314409
Lemierre's Syndrome: A Rare Case Report
Objective: To discuss a rare occurrence of internal carotid artery occlusion without venous involvement. Also, to stress the complex relationship between ear, nose, and throat lesions and secondary neurologic complications that may subsequently arise.
Design: Case report.
Patient: We report a rare case of a Lemierre's syndrome variant in a 19-year-old Danish student who presented to the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeons with subacute (1 week) onset of tonsillopharyngitis that gradually evolved into progressive neurological deterioration with meningeal irritation in the form of multiple cranial nerve palsies and, ultimately, loss of consciousness over a period of 10 days. The patient had full-blown bacteremia and cerebrovascular accident from internal carotid artery occlusion with resultant hemiplegia.
Conclusions: Some complications of Lemierre's syndrome may require quick neurosurgical intervention to avoid devastating clinical outcome similar to our experience in this unfortunate case.