편도주위농양의 임상적 분석

Background and Objective: Peritonsillar abscess is a collection of pus between the fibrous capsule of the tonsil and the superior constrictor muscle of the pharynx. It is the commonest deep infection of the head and neck in adult, although rare, is potentially life-threatening. In spite of decreasing incidence since the advent of antibiotic therapy, many otolaryngologists frequently experience. We performed a recent clinical analysis of peritonsillar abscess and assessed the efficacy of pus culture and sensitivity. Materials and Methods: From January 1998 to December 2002, 72 patients who admitted SCH hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The analyzed factors were sex, age, season, the duration from onset to visit, body temperture, clinical manifestation, past history of peritonsillar abscess, duration of hospitalization, cultured organism and antibiotic sensitivity. Results: Peritonsillar abscess occurred most frequently at second decade (44.3%), July of months and summer of seasons. The mean duration from onset to visit was 4.4 days. Most frequent body temperature was 36.6- 37.5°C (70.9%). Most common symptom was sore throat (83.3%). On past history, 10 patients (13.9%) experienced peritonsillar abscess one time and 2 patients experienced two times. Average hospitalization was 4.2 days. Pus was cultured in forty-nine patients and pathologic organisms were only isolated in 19 patients (26.3%). Among the total 21 strains, α-hemolytic streptococci were 9 strains (36.8%), Klebsiella pneumoniae 2 strains (19.0%), Streptococcus milleri 3 strains (14.3%), Streptococcus pyogenes 2 strains (9.5%), Viridans Streptococci 1 strains (5.3%), Streptococcus mitis 1 strains (5.3%), Enterococcus cloaceae 1 strains (5.3%). Conclusion: For the treatment of peritonsillar abscess, proper antibiotic treatment is important and should be covered all bacteria that are causative. In our study, all patients were treated with cephalosporin and that was sensitive to all pathogens. Because the patients were treated by primary physician with antibiotics before admitted, routine microbial culture and microbial sensitivity tests were not effective. (J Clinical Otolaryngol 2003;14:282-287)