Peritonsillar abscess: Treatment with immediate tonsillectomy – 10 years of experience

Abstract

A total of 112 patients were studied, with a mean age of 24 years. There were no events of sepsis, and there were only four cases (3.6%) of postoperative bleeding, two of which resolved spontaneously. Only 29% of the patients required morphine pump-based analgesia in the postoperative period. The mean length of hospital stay was 3.4 days. Among the 28 unilateral tonsillectomies, 4 (14.2%) developed streptococcal tonsillitis and 2 (7.1%) were readmitted with a contralateral peritonsillitis: one cellulitis and one abscess that required drainage and tonsillectomy. The most frequently isolated microorganisms were gram-positive bacteria (Streptococcus pyogenes and other streptococci) and anaerobic bacteria (mainly Bacteroides spp. and Fusobacterium nucleatum).

Prognostic factors and effects of early surgical drainage in patients with peritonsillar abscess

“…In the current patient population, the mean duration between symptom onset and resolution of symptoms of 3.2 days and the mean duration between symptom onset and complete recovery from the disease of 5.5 days were comparable with findings from other studies [9,10]. The male:female ratio of patients with PTA in the present study was 2.9:1, again consistent with previous reports [2,11].…”

Hospital discharge survey on 4,199 peritonsillar abscesses in the Veneto region: what is the risk of recurrence and complications without tonsillectomy?

“…Whenever tonsillectomy is indicated, interval tonsillectomy enables the surgery to be planned more carefully, and performed at a time when the patient is no longer acutely ill. On the other hand, delayed tonsillectomy may entail a more difficult dissection than quinsy tonsillectomy, and results in a longer recovery time overall. Thus, many authors stress the advantages of quinsy tonsillectomy also in adults and cooperative patients, but this debate is beyond the aim of the present paper [25,26]. The clinician's experience and the patient's preference should probably take precedence.…”

Variations in treatment of peritonsillar abscess in four Nordic countries

“…According to Page et al, performing abscess TE is beneficial [14]. Interval TE is recommended only for cases in which personnel and facilities are unavailable for abscess TE [15,16]. Local tradition and the financial systems of each clinic likely play major roles in the choice of treatment protocol.…”