Lemierre's syndrome

From WikiMD.org
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Lemierre's syndrome (pronounced: leh-mee-air's sin-drome) is a rare medical condition often caused by the bacterium Fusobacterium necrophorum. It is also known as postanginal septicemia and necrobacillosis.

Etymology

The syndrome is named after the French bacteriologist, André Lemierre, who first reported the condition in 1936.

Definition

Lemierre's syndrome is a potentially life-threatening illness characterized by thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein and bacteremia caused by primarily anaerobic organisms, following a recent oropharyngeal infection.

Symptoms

The initial symptoms of Lemierre's syndrome are similar to those of a severe throat infection, including fever, sore throat, and swollen neck glands. As the infection progresses, patients may develop sepsis, pneumonia, and other serious complications.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of Lemierre's syndrome is typically based on clinical findings, blood cultures, and imaging studies such as ultrasound or computed tomography (CT) scans.

Treatment

Treatment typically involves intravenous antibiotics to combat the bacterial infection and, in some cases, anticoagulants to treat the thrombophlebitis.

Prognosis

With prompt diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis for Lemierre's syndrome is generally good, although the condition can be fatal if not treated promptly.

Epidemiology

Lemierre's syndrome is rare, with an estimated incidence of 0.8 to 1 case per million people per year. It most commonly affects healthy young adults.

See also

External links

Esculaap.svg

This WikiMD article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.


Languages: - East Asian 中文, 日本, 한국어, South Asian हिन्दी, Urdu, বাংলা, తెలుగు, தமிழ், ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, မြန်မာဘာသာ, European español, Deutsch, français, русский, português do Brasil, Italian, polski