Evaluation of microbial flora in chronic tonsillitis and the role of tonsillectomy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3329/bjo.v18i2.11982Keywords:
Chronic tonsillitis, tonsillectomy, surface swabs, bacteriology, tonsil coreAbstract
Objective: To establish a correlation between clinical picture and bacteriological findings in chronic tonsillitis and to study the efficacy of surface swabs in predicting tonsillar core bacteria.
Design: A prospective study analyzing microbiological flora of 149 patients with chronic tonsillitis, 17 patients with acute tonsillitis, 34 control patients and 31 postoperative patients of tonsillectomy was conducted. Surface swabs and fine needle aspiration was done from the tonsils under anesthesia just prior to surgery. Excised tonsils were cultured. A postoperative surface swab was taken in thirty one randomly selected patients three weeks after surgery.
Results: Core cultures of 102 out of 149 patients (68%) were positive for pathogenic bacteria. Core pathogenic flora was mono microbial in nature. Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest cultured pathogen. When compared with tonsil core pathogens, surface swabs and fine needle aspiration showed 77% and 93% correlation respectively. After tonsillectomy, elimination of pathogenic bacteria from the oropharynx was seen in 97% of the patients.
Conclusion: Tonsillectomy eradicated pathogenic microflora from the oropharynx in almost in all patients. Surface swabs have a high degree of reliability and are a useful adjuvant investigation to supplement the clinical diagnosis and can be useful for decision making.
DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjo.v18i2.11982
Bangladesh J Otorhinolaryngol 2012; 18(2): 109-113
Downloads
330
224
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Manuscripts submitted for publication in the Bangladesh Journal of Otorhinolaryngology must not have been previously submitted or published. Accepted papers become the permanent property of the Bangladesh Journal of Otorhinolaryngology. By submitting a manuscript, the authors(s) agree that copyrights for their articles are automatically transferred to Bangladesh Journal of Otorhinolaryngology, if and when the articles are accepted for publication.
The use, in this journal, of registered trade names, trade marks, etc. without special acknowledgement does not imply that such names, as defined by the relevant protection laws, be regarded as unprotected, and, thus, free for general use.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
