A Unique Case of Lemierre's Syndrome in a Patient with Otitis Media
Rachael Rohini Pillay1*, Michael Busby1
Affiliation
- 1Gold Coast University Hospital, 1 Hospital Boulevard, Southport, Australia
Corresponding Author
Rachael Rohini Pillay, University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Translational Research Institute, 37 Kent Street, Wooloongabba, Australia: 4102, E-mail: rachaelpillay@icloud.com
Citation
Rachael, R.P., et al. A Unique Case of Lemierre’s Syndrome in a patient with Otitis Media. (2016) J Anesth Surg 3(1): 128-130.
Copy rights
© 2016 Rachael, R.P. This is an Open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Keywords
Abstract
We present the case of a 19 year male who presented initially with acute otitis media and mastoiditis that subsequently evolved into Lemierre’s syndrome. The diagnosis was made 5 days after admission when the patient continued to show no clinical improvement despite IV antibiotic therapy. The only isolate was from blood cultures that grew Fusobacterium necrophorum. The patient was appropriately treated and made a full recovery from this syndrome. This case shows the importance of making the correct diagnosis and subsequentappropriate treatment to prevent the serious morbidity and mortality associated with Lemierre’s syndrome. This was particularly important in this case as the antibiotic therapy for Fusobacterium necrophorum is very different to the usual treatment modalities for pharyngitis and otitis media, and if not detected early could have lead to serious and life-threatening complications for the patient.