Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom, and in this episode,

I'm going to be talking to you about Quincy, or Peritonsala Abscess. And if you want to follow

along with written notes on this topic, you can follow along at zero definals.com slash quinzy

or in the E&T section of the Zero Definals Pediatrics book.

So let's get straight into it.

Quincy is the common name for a peritonsular abscess.

Peritonsular abscess arises where there is a bacterial infection with trapped pus

forming an abscess in the region of the tonsils.

The protontola abscess is a complication of untreated or partially treated tonsillitis,

although it can arise without tonsillitis.

Quincy can occur just as frequently in teenagers and young adults as a dozen children, unlike

tonsillitis which is much more common in children. So how does it present? Patients present with

similar symptoms to tonsillitis with a sore throat, painful swallowing, fever, neck pain,

referred ear pain and swollen tender lymph nodes.

Additional symptoms that can indicate a peritonsular abscess include trismus, which refers to when the patient is unable to open their mouth, a change in voice due to the pharyngeal swelling which

is described in textbooks as a hot potato voice, and swelling and erythema in the area beside

the tonsils.

Let's talk about the microbiology and the bacteria. Quincy is usually due to a bacterial infection.

The most common organism is Streptococcus pyogenes, which is group A strep. But it can also be commonly

caused by Staphylococcus aureus and hemophilus influenza.

So how do we manage Quincy?

Patients should be referred into hospital under the care of the ENT team for incision and drainage of the abscess under general anaestetic.

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