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 tonsillitis.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero tofinals.com slash tonsillitis

or in the ear, nose and throat section of the zero to finals surgery book. So let's get straight

into it. Tonsolitis refers to inflammation of the tonsils. The most common cause of tonsillitis is a

viral infection. Viral infections do not require or respond to antibiotics. So antibiotics are

useless in the case of viral infections. The most common cause of bacterial tonsillitis is

Group A Streptococcus or Streptoccus pyogenes. This can be effectively treated with penicillin V, or phenoxy-methal penicillin.

The second most common bacterial cause of tonsillitis is streptococcus pneumonia. Other causes are

hemophilus influenza, moorexcela cat, and Staphylococcus aureus.

Let's talk about Waldia's tonsular ring.

In the pharynx at the back of the throat, there is a ring of lymphoid tissue.

There are six areas of lymphoid tissue in Waldia's ring,

which includes the adenoids,

tubal tonsils, palatine tonsils and the lingual tonsil.

The palatine tonsils are the ones typically infected and enlarged in tonsillitis.

These are the tonsils on either side at the back of the throat. Let's talk about the presentation of tonsillitis.

The typical presentation of acute tonsillitis is with a sore throat,

a fever above 38 degrees Celsius, and pain on swallowing.

Examination of the throat will reveal red, inflamed, and enlarged tonsils,

with or without exudates.

Exidates are small white patches of pus on the tonsils.

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