Bacteriology of Tonsillar Cores in Obstructive Tonsillar Hypertrophy and Recurrent Tonsillitis Patients / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to find whether bacteriological characteristics can affect the size and recurrent infections of the tonsil by comparing the type and number of bacteria located in the core of palatine tonsil in obstructive tonsillar hypertrophy (OTH) and recurrent tonsillitis (RT) patients. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Palatine tonsils of patients who received tonsillectomy due to OTH and RT were studied. The excised tonsil was dissected into two pieces and one gram of the core tissue was obtained for examination. Mixture of normal saline and homogenized tissue was inoculated using various culture media. The types of isolates and bacterial concentrations in each isolate was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Commonly isolated aerobic bacteria in the order of frequency for the OTH group were Streptococcus viridans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Neisseria spp., whereas it was Neisseria spp., Streptococcus viridans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Haemophilus influenzae for the RT group. Peptostreptococcus spp. was the most frequently isolated anaerobe in both OTH group and RT group. There was no statistically significant difference in types of isolates between the two groups except for Haemophilus influenzae and Bacteroides spp. The density of cultured bacteria (number of bacteria per 1 gram of tissue) was greater in the RT group than in the OTH group. CONCLUSION: There was no definite difference in the number of isolate types between the OTH group and RT group. Bacterial density was higher in the RT group than in the OTH group. Therefore, bacterial density might have an influence on the recurrence of tonsillitis.