Peritonsillar Abscess: Comparison of Outcome of incision and Drainage Versus Needle Aspiration

Abstract

Background: Peritonsillar abscess is one of the commonest and serious emergencies in the head and neck region, requiring urgent surgical intervention. This study was designed to compare the outcome of incision & drainage versus needle aspiration for peritonsillar abscess in terms of hospital stay, postoperative pain and recurrence.

Material & Methods: This comparative study was conducted at Departments of ENT, Mufti Mehmood Memorial Teaching Hospital and DHQ Teaching Hospital, D.I. Khan from January 2010 to December 2012. Adult subject of both sexes (age >15 years) with Peritonsillar abscess were included. Subjects aged <15 years, and those with acute follicular tonsillitis and bleeding disorders were excluded. Subjects were divided into group 1 and 2 of 28 each on alternate basis.

Results: The study included 40 male and 16 females. Mean age of the subjects was 29.07+9.05 years (range 16-50 years) in group 1 and 32.32+8.83 years (range 18-50 years) in group 2 with insignificant statistical difference (p= 0.179). Mean hospital stay was 2.29 (1.05) days (range 1-5 days) in group 1 and 3.43 (1.43) days (range 1-5 days) in group 2 with a significant statistical difference (p= 0.0013). The rate of severe pain was statistically significantly higher in group 1 (p=0.007). The rate of recurrence was statistically significantly higher in group 2 (p=0.000).

Conclusion: Incision and drainage for peritonsillar abscess is a superior procedure over needle aspiration in terms of hospital stay and recurrence of abscess while later is superior in terms of frequency of severe postoperative pain.