Noor Alam Ansari, Shuja Farrukh, Iqbal A Muhammad, Gulzar Sheikh.
Peri-tonsillar Sepsis; the Microbiology and it`s mainstay of treatment.
Pak J Otolaryngol Jan ;18(4):58-9.

OBJECTIVES: To Search for the micro-organisms causing the peritonsillar sepsis and to know about it`s cost effective treatment. DESIGN. A prospective study. PLACE & DURATION OF STUDY: The study was carried out at the department of ENT, Civil Hospital Karachi, over the period of four years (June 1998 - Aug 2002). PATIENTS & METHODS: Fourty patients were examined presenting with peritonsillar infection. All patients under went a needle aspiration. Thirty patients were included in the study. Pus obtained by needle aspiration of peritonsillar abscesses in thirty patients was examined microbiologically. RESULTS: A positive culture was obtained in 18 patients (60 percent). Ten patients had a pure growth of a single organism, of which 08 (80 percent) were beta haemolytic streptococci. Pure growths of staphylococcus aureus were found in only one patient. Eight patients had mixed organisms, including anaerobes in their pus and the resistance to pencillin was low, only the bacteroides species were generally pencillin resistant. The vast majority of patients made a good recovery following needle drainage of the abscess and treatment with parenteral penicillin. The patients with a mixture of penicillin sensitive and penicillin resistant organisms also made a good clinical recovery following needle drainage and administration of parenteral penicillin. CONCLUSION: The drainage of pus by needle aspiration and parenteral penicillin therapy should still be the cost effective and main stay of treatment in cases of peritonsillar sepsis.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com