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Published on: November 6, 2019
Peritonsillar abscess: is there any evidence of lateralized distribution? An analysis of 294 patients
1Elblandkliniken Radebeul, Department of Ear, Nose and Throat, Heinrich-Zille-Str. 13, D-01445 Radebeul, Germany. michael.reiss@elblandkliniken.de
Objective:
Generally, peritonsillar abscess (PTA) occurs only on one side. Diseases of paired organs show a distinct asymmetry of occurrence: for instance gynaecomastia, varicocele, trigeminal neuralgia, carcinoma of the breast and carcinoma of the ethmoid sinus. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to investigate a possible dominance of one side in PTA.
Material And Method:
Lateralization of a PTA was studied in 294 patients treated at Radebeul Hospital between January 2004 and December 2009.
Result:
We found only a slight predominance of the left side in male as well as female patients.
Conclusion:
The cause of the slight asymmetry is unclear. It is also possible that the non significant dominance is coincidental.
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