Diagnosing the Uncommon: Dakota’s Fight Against Lemierre’s Syndrome

Patient Shares Story of Life-Threatening Infection that Led to Weeks-Long Hospital Stay

Dakota Basloe wasn’t feeling well on the night of February 5, 2025. The healthy 21-year-old from Herkimer had a sore throat, felt nauseous, and was dealing with loss of appetite. The next morning, he felt worse, so he went to the emergency department at Bassett Healthcare Network’s Little Falls Hospital. He was initially diagnosed with the flu and was sent home, but returned within the next 24 hours after becoming short of breath. 

After undergoing chest X-rays on February 10, Dakota was next diagnosed with pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics. Two days later, he was brought to the Little Falls Hospital emergency room, where doctors determined he must be transported to Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown. Dakota’s care team continued to take blood samples, but tests were coming back inconclusive and Dakota’s condition was deteriorating.

“My medical team was attentive and determined to help me, but they just couldn’t seem to figure out what was happening,” said Dakota. “I followed their instructions, but all the while my symptoms just continued to get worse.”

After his first night at Bassett Medical Center, Dakota was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He was septic and his medical team found abscesses in his lungs and liver. An abscess is a buildup of pus that can form when the body’s immune system is fighting an infection. At this point, Dakota was breathing twice as fast as normal.

After additional testing, which included a new CT scan, Dakota’s medical team decided that he needed chest tubes around both of his lungs to drain puss and fluids, providing Dakota with some relief from the extreme discomfort he was dealing with. Dakota was prescribed multiple antibiotics, a necessary decision as a diagnosis still eluded his doctors. A sample taken from the abscess in Dakota’s liver finally provided clarity on February 19. Dakota was suffering from Lemierre’s Syndrome, which is a condition where a bacterial infection in the throat spreads to other parts of the body. It is uncommon and potentially life-threatening. 

Dr. Crischelle Magaspi, a pulmonologist, was involved in Dakota’s case throughout his time in the ICU. 

“We can think of the lungs as an innocent bystander with Lemierre’s Syndrome,” Dr. Magaspi explains. “Infection can spread to the lungs and cause the breathing complications Dakota experienced. The presentation can go from zero to 100 fast.”

Lemierre’s Syndrome is a rare condition, occurring in only about 1 in 500,000 people annually. Patients with Lemierre’s Syndrome are typically young adults without other medical problems. It usually develops one to two weeks after an initial throat infection and is characterized by persistently high fevers, severe pain on the side of the neck and difficulty breathing if the lungs are involved, as they were in Dakota’s case. Diagnosing this syndrome can be difficult and specialized imaging tests are necessary. 

“Our network sees maybe one case of Lemierre’s Syndrome a year. Dakota had a very serious case,” shares Dr. Charles Hyman, attending physician in Infectious Diseases, who was part of Dakota’s medical team. “My message to patients would be that not every sore throat is a concern, but if it is accompanied by a fever and doesn’t go away on its own, you should seek medical attention. My message to medical staff is that it’s important to dig deeper during diagnosis, especially when a young person returns to an emergency room multiple times. In this case, this kind of diligence may have well been what saved Dakota’s life.”

After diagnosis, Dakota’s condition improved and he was moved to Bassett Medical Center’s medical-surgical unit on February 21, where he continued to receive treatment with antibiotics and relief from chest tubes. He received care in that unit until March 1, when he was finally ready to be discharged and return home. Today, Dakota is doing well and continues to build his strength back. He began physical therapy at Bassett’s Valley Health Services in Herkimer and regularly checks in with Bassett’s Infectious Disease team.

“I want to spread the word about Lemierre’s Syndrome, since not too many people know about it. It’s dangerous and can be deadly if left untreated. There are a lot of things that can happen to us where only the hospital can help,” says Dakota. “I am so grateful to my entire medical team. This wasn’t something easy for them to figure out, but I had full faith that they would reach the correct diagnosis.”