Lemierre Syndrome involving Schaalia (Formerly Actinomyces) odontolyticus due to injection drug use into the neck

Lemierre Syndrome, septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein following oropharyngeal infection, is classically caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum and associated with septic emboli. We present a case of Lemierre Syndrome involving Schaalia odontolyticus (formerly Actinomyces) in the setti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Roohali A. Sukhavasi, Nina J. Gao, Christopher J. Smith, Sarah A. Schmalzle
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-01-01
Series:IDCases
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221425092400180X
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846138437779849216
author Roohali A. Sukhavasi
Nina J. Gao
Christopher J. Smith
Sarah A. Schmalzle
author_facet Roohali A. Sukhavasi
Nina J. Gao
Christopher J. Smith
Sarah A. Schmalzle
author_sort Roohali A. Sukhavasi
collection DOAJ
description Lemierre Syndrome, septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein following oropharyngeal infection, is classically caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum and associated with septic emboli. We present a case of Lemierre Syndrome involving Schaalia odontolyticus (formerly Actinomyces) in the setting of injection drug use. A 46-year-old man presented with right neck swelling and abscess with S. odontolyticus as the primary bacterium isolated from the abscess culture, which was introduced to the site when the patient had licked his needle and injected illicit drugs into his neck. The patient did not develop septic emboli, had sterile blood cultures, and was treated with surgical drainage and 2 weeks of oral linezolid without anticoagulation, with presumed cure. S. odontolyticus is a fastidious commensal oral bacterium involved in the formation of dental plaque, but has also been associated with severe extra-oropharyngeal manifestations. S. odontolyticus infections been increasingly reported in the literature, likely related to the advent of advanced identification technology like matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, which can more easily identify fastidious organisms.
format Article
id doaj-art-1d24e30282d14cba88d57da090de05d9
institution Kabale University
issn 2214-2509
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series IDCases
spelling doaj-art-1d24e30282d14cba88d57da090de05d92024-12-07T08:27:17ZengElsevierIDCases2214-25092024-01-0138e02104Lemierre Syndrome involving Schaalia (Formerly Actinomyces) odontolyticus due to injection drug use into the neckRoohali A. Sukhavasi0Nina J. Gao1Christopher J. Smith2Sarah A. Schmalzle3University of Maryland School of Medicine, 655 W Baltimore St S, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA; Correspondence to: Institute of Human Virology, 725 W Lombard St, Baltimore, MD 21201, United StatesUniversity of Maryland School of Medicine, 655 W Baltimore St S, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA; Department of Pathology, 655 W Baltimore St S, Baltimore, MD 21201, United StatesUniversity of Maryland Medical Center, 22 S Greene St., Baltimore, MD 21201, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, 655 W Baltimore St S, Baltimore, MD 21201, United StatesLemierre Syndrome, septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein following oropharyngeal infection, is classically caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum and associated with septic emboli. We present a case of Lemierre Syndrome involving Schaalia odontolyticus (formerly Actinomyces) in the setting of injection drug use. A 46-year-old man presented with right neck swelling and abscess with S. odontolyticus as the primary bacterium isolated from the abscess culture, which was introduced to the site when the patient had licked his needle and injected illicit drugs into his neck. The patient did not develop septic emboli, had sterile blood cultures, and was treated with surgical drainage and 2 weeks of oral linezolid without anticoagulation, with presumed cure. S. odontolyticus is a fastidious commensal oral bacterium involved in the formation of dental plaque, but has also been associated with severe extra-oropharyngeal manifestations. S. odontolyticus infections been increasingly reported in the literature, likely related to the advent of advanced identification technology like matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, which can more easily identify fastidious organisms.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221425092400180XActinomycosisActinomycesSchaalia odontolyticusLemierre SyndromeInjection drug use
spellingShingle Roohali A. Sukhavasi
Nina J. Gao
Christopher J. Smith
Sarah A. Schmalzle
Lemierre Syndrome involving Schaalia (Formerly Actinomyces) odontolyticus due to injection drug use into the neck
IDCases
Actinomycosis
Actinomyces
Schaalia odontolyticus
Lemierre Syndrome
Injection drug use
title Lemierre Syndrome involving Schaalia (Formerly Actinomyces) odontolyticus due to injection drug use into the neck
title_full Lemierre Syndrome involving Schaalia (Formerly Actinomyces) odontolyticus due to injection drug use into the neck
title_fullStr Lemierre Syndrome involving Schaalia (Formerly Actinomyces) odontolyticus due to injection drug use into the neck
title_full_unstemmed Lemierre Syndrome involving Schaalia (Formerly Actinomyces) odontolyticus due to injection drug use into the neck
title_short Lemierre Syndrome involving Schaalia (Formerly Actinomyces) odontolyticus due to injection drug use into the neck
title_sort lemierre syndrome involving schaalia formerly actinomyces odontolyticus due to injection drug use into the neck
topic Actinomycosis
Actinomyces
Schaalia odontolyticus
Lemierre Syndrome
Injection drug use
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221425092400180X
work_keys_str_mv AT roohaliasukhavasi lemierresyndromeinvolvingschaaliaformerlyactinomycesodontolyticusduetoinjectiondruguseintotheneck
AT ninajgao lemierresyndromeinvolvingschaaliaformerlyactinomycesodontolyticusduetoinjectiondruguseintotheneck
AT christopherjsmith lemierresyndromeinvolvingschaaliaformerlyactinomycesodontolyticusduetoinjectiondruguseintotheneck
AT sarahaschmalzle lemierresyndromeinvolvingschaaliaformerlyactinomycesodontolyticusduetoinjectiondruguseintotheneck