No Simple Sore Throat

Abstract

The case of a previously healthy 24-year-old woman with a chief complaint of sore throat provided an opportunity to diagnose and treat an unusual entity. Despite outpatient treatment with clarithromycin, the patient’s odynophagia worsened, and she developed a fever. She was hospitalized, treated with ceftriaxone, and subsequently discharged home on levofloxacin and prednisone. Her sore throat improved over the next week, but approximately 2 weeks after the initial onset of her illness, she was readmitted for right-sided swelling of the neck, severe pain, and dysphagia.