Bilateral peritonsillar abscesses: our experience and clinical features.

OBJECTIVES

This study analyzed the incidence and characteristics of bilateral peritonsillar abscesses (PTAs) that were treated with immediate tonsillectomy.

METHODS

The study analyzed 409 patients with PTAs treated between 1984 and 2008. The patients included 304 male and 105 female patients between 2 and 85 years of age (median age, 30 years). Immediate tonsillectomy was performed in 371 of the PTA patients (90.7%). The incidence of bilateral PTAs and candidate predictive factors for bilateral PTAs were reviewed, including age, duration of PTA symptoms, history of recurrent tonsillitis, history of PTAs, deviation of the uvula, body temperature on admission, white blood cell count on admission, and C-reactive protein level on admission.

RESULTS

Bilateral PTAs were found in 24 of 371 patients (6.5%). Younger age, absence of a deviated uvula, and a higher C-reactive protein value were the clinical features associated with bilateral PTAs in multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

The occurrence of bilateral PTAs was not rare; this fact has to be taken into consideration in discussing therapeutic concepts. The clinical features of bilateral PTAs suggested that bilateral PTAs might be a part of the natural history of PTAs, and that they occur in cases in which there is a delay in diagnosis and treatment. Further study is necessary to confirm the causation of bilateral PTAs.