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IntroductionLemierre's syndrome was originally documented to be caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum. It is a very rare condition with a prevalence of one to 14.4 instances per million. Its presentation is varied, not only in composition but also in the infecting organism. Treatment with anticoagulants has been controversial and applied only on a case-by-case basis.Case presentationA 63-year-old Saudi man who had had uncontrolled diabetes mellitus for 47 years presented to our facility with a five-day history of swelling on the right side of his neck and fever. The swelling progressively increased in size and was associated with pain, dysphagia, odynophagia, change of voice ('hot potato voice'), and reduced appetite. Abscess content culture and sensitivity testing revealed Klebsiella pneumoniae. However, blood culture results were repeatedly negative. The abscess was incised and drained without any complication. Our patient was treated with clindamycin and cefuroxime. Warfarin was also administered concurrently for six weeks, for an isolated internal jugular vein thrombosis (IJV), with complete resolution of the thrombus. Normoglycemia was achieved and our patient was discharged after complete wound healing and the return of his biochemical parameters to normal.ConclusionsOnly two cases of Lemierre's syndrome in patients with diabetes due to K. pneumoniae have been reported previously. A review of the literature suggested that an association exists between deep neck infections due to K. pneumoniae and diabetes mellitus. The reasons for this association are still not clear. This poses a question as to whether diabetes mellitus specifically predisposes these patients to infection with this organism. It is suggested that clinicians should consider infectious agents other than F. necrophorum in the causation of Lemierre's syndrome, especially in patients with diabetes.

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Brucellosis is an endemic infection mainly in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region that can involve any system. However, cardiovascular involvement commonly seen as endocarditis is a rare occurrence, but it is one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity. Brucella mycotic aneurysms are extremely rare and carry a higher morbidity and mortality. Here, we present a case of Brucella mycotic aneurysms in the descending aorta complicated by an aortoesophageal fistula in a 52-year-old diabetic man. The diagnosis was made by thoracic CT angiogram showing a saccular aneurysm arising from the descending aorta and two positive cultures of Brucella melitensis. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiograms ruled out infective endocarditis. Aortoesophageal fistula complicating a Brucella mycotic aneurysm in the absence of evidence of endocarditis has not yet been reported in the literature.