A Rare case of Staphylococcus aureus Associated Lemierre's Disease Complicated by Pneumothorax
Abstract
Background: Lemierre's syndrome is a rare but life-threatening condition characterized by septic thrombophlebitis, most often due to Fusobacterium necrophorum. Although uncommon, Staphylococcus aureus can also cause atypical and severe presentations.
Case presentation: This case describes an unusual presentation of Lemierre's syndrome in an 18-year-old male, associated with Staphylococcus aureus and complications including left-sided secondary spontaneous pneumothorax, septic pulmonary emboli, and pleural effusion. The patient initially presented with fever, headache, periorbital swelling with double vision, neck pain, and acute onset left-sided chest pain with shortness of breath. Initial evaluations revealed thrombosis in the superior ophthalmic veins, cavernous sinuses, and bilateral internal jugular veins, along with left-sided pneumothorax and diffuse cavitating nodules in both lung fields. Blood cultures confirmed Staphylococcus aureus resistant to macrolides. Treatment includes high-flow oxygen, intravenous vancomycin followed by oxacillin, and anticoagulation therapy. At 3-month follow-up, the patient had fully recovered with resolution of pneumothorax and inflammatory markers.
Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of recognizing atypical presentations of Lemierre's syndrome and the need for prompt multidisciplinary intervention to prevent fatal outcomes.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a case report, done in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Severe clinical outcomes of COVID-19 associated with proton pump inhibitors: a nationwide cohort study with propensity score matching
- Penicillins for Treatment of Pneumococcal Pneumonia: Does In Vitro Resistance Really Matter?
- Thiophenes—Naturally Occurring Plant Metabolites: Biological Activities and In Silico Evaluation of Their Potential as Cathepsin D Inhibitors
- Inhalable Mannosylated Rifampicin–Curcumin Co-Loaded Nanomicelles with Enhanced In Vitro Antimicrobial Efficacy for an Optimized Pulmonary Tuberculosis Therapy
- Development and validation of microbial bioassay for quantification of Levofloxacin in pharmaceutical preparations
- Association between cord blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and respiratory tract infections in the first 6 months of age in a Korean population: a birth cohort study (COCOA)
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.