Lemierre’s syndrome: a life-threatening sore throat

A 25-year-old previously healthy Japanese man presented to our emergency department with a 1-day history of dyspnoea, following a sore throat in the previous week. Physical examination revealed acute exudative tonsillitis and right-sided diminished breath sounds. The laboratory analysis revealed a significantly elevated C reactive protein level of 30.67 mg/dL. A CT scan with contrast revealed a thrombophlebitis of the left internal jugular vein, a right-sided empyema and bilateral septic pulmonary emboli (figure 1). Figure 1 Axial CT scan with contrast of …