Abstract
Peritonsillar abscess (PTA) is the most frequent complication of acute tonsillitis and a prevalent cause for acute admission to otorhinolaryngology departments. Our aim was to examine the role of viruses in the pathogenesis of PTA, as this has not previously been considered. We examined both palatine tonsils from 25 patients undergoing acute tonsillectomy for PTA, using PCR-based assays for herpes simplex virus-1 and -2 (HSV-1 and -2), adenovirus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), influenza A and B, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) A and B. We similarly examined tonsils from 55 patients undergoing elective tonsillectomy due to chronic tonsillar conditions. These patients served as a control group, as they did not have a clinically apparent infection at the time of surgery. Only HSV-1 (5/80, 6.3%), adenovirus (11/80, 13.8%), and EBV (71/80, 88.8%) were detected in our study population. There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of these viruses across different diagnostic groups. Quantification of EBV load demonstrated no differences between the PTA and the elective tonsillectomy group, nor between the abscessed and non-abscessed tonsil of PTA patients. In summary, our data do not support a significant role for the examined viruses in the pathogenesis of PTA.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages (from-to) | 2335-43 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| ISSN | 0934-9723 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2012 |
Keywords
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Child
- Female
- Humans
- Male
- Palatine Tonsil/virology
- Peritonsillar Abscess/virology
- Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods
- Virology/methods
- Virus Diseases/complications
- Viruses/classification
- Young Adult