Lemierre's syndrome: One rare disease—Two case studies

Summary What is known and objective Lemierre's syndrome is often misdiagnosed as a common cold or viral infection. Fusobacterium necrophorum is the most common causative organism. The recommended treatment regimen is 6 weeks of a beta‐lactam antibiotic along with metronidazole. Case description We present two cases of Lemierre's syndrome with internal jugular vein thrombophlebitis and positive blood cultures for F. necrophorum . The first case was successfully treated with 6 weeks of a beta‐lactam antibiotic and 4 weeks of metronidazole, while the second case was successfully treated with 4 weeks of a beta‐lactam antibiotic and 2 weeks of metronidazole. What is new and conclusion Two cases of Lemierre's syndrome were treated successfully with only 2‐4 weeks of metronidazole therapy. Shorter duration of metronidazole therapy should be explored in future studies.