Via practica 3/2006

CHRONIC TONSILITIS

Authors refer about the chronic tonsilitis and current indications and contraindications of the surgical treatment, tonsilectomy. They mention the incidence of reumatic fever in Europe and Northern America in school children (0,5/100 000) and compare them with the incidence in third world countries (100 – 200/100 000). Despite all the commonly known scientific criteria, they remind on the contrast in incidence of tonsilectomias per 100 000 people in selected countries of the world according to the OECD records (7 x more often tonsilectomies in the USA than the UK). In the discussion they talk about the importance of the Waldeyer`s ring in the immune system and opinions about the focal infections in the tonsils. At the end they remind of the importance of the interdisciplinary cooperation in indications of tonsilectomy, mainly in allergic and imunocompromised patients.

Keywords: chronic tonsilitis, tonsilectomy, focal infection in ORL.