Abstract
Presented here is the case of a 27-year-old male with atypical features of Lemierre’s syndrome in which a definitive diagnosis was achieved using molecular methods. While routine investigations, including bacterial cultures, were unhelpful, two real-time PCR assays demonstrated Fusobacterium necrophorum-specific DNA in aspirates from brain and renal abscesses. This is the first report demonstrating that a laboratory diagnosis can be made using molecular methods in suspected cases of Lemierre’s syndrome. Use of these methods can thus resolve diagnostic confusion, prevent unnecessary investigation, and direct specific antimicrobial treatment.
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Acknowledgment
We are grateful to Dr. J. Brazier of the Anaerobe Reference Laboratory, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, Wales, UK, for the help and advice he offered in the preparation of this manuscript
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Aliyu, S.H., Yong, P.F.K., Newport, M.J. et al. Molecular diagnosis of Fusobacterium necrophorum infection (Lemierre’s syndrome). Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 24, 226–229 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-005-1298-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-005-1298-6