ABSTRACT
Background: The presence of large number of tonsillectomy surgeries and also the possibility of tonsillar colonization by Helicobacter pylori as the causative agent of tonsillar hypertrophy make it necessary to investigate any possible correlation between the presence of this bacterium and the occurrence of tonsillar hypertrophy
Objective: To investigate the frequency of Helicobacter pylori in chronic tonsillitis patients
Methods: Scorpion real-time PCR was performed on 103 archived paraffin-embedded tonsillar samples collected from patients with tonsillar hypertrophy following tonsillectomy operation at ENT ward of Qods Hospital [Qazvin University of Medical Sciences], Qazvin [Iran] during 2008-2009
Findings: H. pylori DNA was present in 21.35% of total specimens
Conclusion: Although the existence of H. pylori in tonsillar tissue samples of patients with tonsillar hypertrophy is controversial however, it seems that the method by which the laboratory investigation is made may influence the results as the more sensitive and specific scorpion real-time PCR assay showed the tonsils could be considered as important reservoir of H. pylori