Letter: Diagnosis is easily missed
Hauppauge wrestler Nick Mauriello. (Dec. 21, 2011) Credit: David Pokress
It is wonderful that wrestler Nick Mauriello Jr. recovered from both MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and Lemierre's syndrome, a rare inflammation of the blood vessels that doctors said was related to MRSA ["The winner: Once near death from infection, wrestler now healthy -- and ranked No. 1 in his weight class in Suffolk," News, Dec. 23]. His story brought back memories.
In 2004, my son, then 16, was gravely ill. Over five days, he was in two emergency rooms and the pediatrician's office. Only when he had a seizure at home and was rushed to the emergency department again with a 106.9-degree fever was a simple blood culture done. The diagnosis was Lemierre's.
Lemierre's is an often-missed and often-fatal illness that can result from something as common as the flu, as in my son's case. It is imperative that hospital emergency rooms and pediatricians rule it out with a blood culture in a more timely manner for those who present with symptoms of unrelenting fever. The introduction of antibiotics is the key to improving the condition of a patient with Lemierre's.
Renee Liberty, Syosset
