Study of the differences in microbiology between children and adults in cases of tonsillitis

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out on 100 patients, 50 of them were aged 1-5 years [children] and the others 50 were aged 15-40 years [adults]. The study was designed to examine and compare the aerobic bacteria of the surface of the tonsils of children and adults in cases of acute tonsillitis. The commonest organisms isolated from the tonsils of children were Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci [38%], Staphylococcus aureus [20%], Streptococcus pneumonia [10%], Hemophilus influenza [8%] and diphteroids [8%]. In adults, the commonest organisms were Staphylococcus aureus [34%], group A beta- hemolytic streptococci [22%], Escherichia coli [10%], Streptococcus pneumonia [4%] and Hemophilus influenza [4%]. This comparison may be of importance for the choice of the appropriate antibiotics for the treatment of tonsillitis in children and adults