Lemierre's syndrome: three cases and a review.

ABSTRACT

Postanginal sepsis, also called Lemierre's syndrome, is a rare but acute medical condition complicating oropharyngeal infection. The pathogenesis consists of the development of internal jugular vein septic thrombophlebitis leading to metastatic infections in the lung and other sites. The causative microorganism is most often Fusobacterium necrophorum. We present three patients with Lemierre's syndrome who presented to the Leiden University Medical Center and give a review of the literature.