There appears to be no need to routinely culture quinsy aspirates, based upon our findings (of 16 hospital years) and previous studies (which found no recorded episodes of treatment change as a result of culture sensitivities). The combination of penicillin or a cephalosporin, plus metronidazole appeared to be theoretically effective in 99.2 per cent (118/119) of our specimens; this finding is supported by other studies. However, the rare but potentially life-threatening complications of quinsy must be recognised.