Hello and welcome to the zero definals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be

talking to you about ear, nose and throat infections. And if you want to follow along with

written notes on this topic, you can follow along at zero definals.com slash E.N.T infections

or in the infectious diseases section of the zero to finals medicine

book. So let's get straight into it. Tonsolitis, otitis media and rhinocinocytis are most commonly

caused by viral infections and do not require antibiotics. And these infections will usually resolve without treatment over one to three weeks.

Antibiotics should be reserved for people who are immunocompromised, or those with significant

comorbidities, severe infections or infections that fail to resolve.

Nice guidelines are supportive of using something called a delayed prescription in the community

where patients can collect antibiotics if their symptoms don't improve or they get worse after

around three days.

Let's talk about the bacteria that cause ENT infections.

Bacterial tonsillitis is most commonly caused by group A streptococcus infections,

mainly streptococcus pyogenes.

But remember that otitis media, sinusitis and tonsillitis not caused by group A strep,

are most commonly caused by streptococcus pneumonia.

And other causes of E&T infections are hemophilus influenza, moroxcelicaturalis, and staphlococcus aureus.

So let's start by talking about tonsilitis.

tonsilitis is most commonly viral and doesn't require antibiotics. You can use something

called the cent or criteria to estimate the probability that tonsillitis is due to a bacterial

infection and whether they require or would benefit from antibiotics. A score of less than three

indicates they're unlikely to benefit from antibiotics. A score of less than three indicates they're unlikely to benefit from antibiotics.

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