Peritonsillar abscess

For few days, when a patient suffers from deteriorating tonsillitis instead of evolving towards healing, we have to suspect a peritonsillar abscess. The spread of inflammation through the constrictor muscles to the muscles of mastication can sometimes lead to a limitation of the mouth opening (lockjaw).

In adults:

Drainage of the abscess under local anesthesia; tonsillectomy is not usually offered until a second episode of peritonsillar abscess. Generally, in these cases, the abscess is drained at the clinic and tonsillectomy is planned later. The infection is usually caused by a combination of bacteria of the oral flora and treated with penicillin or clindamycin for ten days.

In children:

Sometimes we have to use imaging techniques to confirm the abscess. When the diagnosis of peritonsillar abscess is established in a child who does not cooperate, we must conduct a tonsillectomy under general anesthesia. In children who seem calm, a needle aspiration can sometimes be performed, avoiding surgery.

Reference: Le Médecin du Québec, Volume 42, Number 5, May 2007.

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Emergency in ENT
Peritonsillar abscess
Ludwig’s Angina
Foreign body in the ear
Foreign body in the respiratory tract (nose, trachea, bronchi)
Foreign body in the esophagus
Epiglottitis
Epistaxis
Perilymphatic fistula
Nose fracture
Hemorrhage post-adenotonsillectomy
Acute mastoiditis
Facial paralysis
Sudden hearing loss