More Than Just a Sore Throat

Abstract

This case illustrates Lemierre’s syndrome – a potentially preventable and often fatal condition. This young patient presented with an oropharyngeal infection and experienced recurrent strokes during the course of her in-patient stay. The challenge was in finding the cause of the stroke. Lemierre’s syndrome most often occurs as the result of oropharyngeal sepsis causing venous thrombosis or compression of neck vessels by local swelling. The mainstay of treatment is with prompt antibiotics and heparin.