[Sore throat and chronic tonsillitis (an analytical review)]

This communication is designed to overview the literature publications concerning sore throat and chronic tonsillitis that appeared during the period from 2007 to 2011. It is shown that the prevalence of chronic tonsillar pathology tends to grow progressively over time and is presently 1.5-1.8 times higher than it was in the 1970s. The incidence of newly diagnosed cases of tonsillitis increases even at a higher rate. The total morbidity in the regions characterized by a high level of environmental pollution exceeds by a factor of 2.1 that in the areas with the relatively more friendly environment. Due to the reduction in the proportion of surgical interventions in the general strategy of treatment of sore throat and chronic tonsillitis, even in the presence of medical indications, a three-fold rise in the frequency of local pyoinflammatory tonsillogenic complications is documented. New techniques for diagnostics of tonsillogenic intoxication allowing to better estimate the severity of decompensation with a higher degree of accuracy are considered. It is emphasized that physical methods, such as ultrasound, laser, cryogenic,ultraviolet, and magnetic therapy in combination with antiseptic drugs, find the increasingly wider application along with immunomodulatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal agents for conservative therapy based on the differential choice of medicamental preparations. Equally widely used are novel surgical methods for the management of chronic tonsillitis including modern variants of peritonsillar tissue dissection techniques based on the application of electric current, radiowaves, laser and ultrasound radiation, cryogenic factors and cold-plasma, etc. The use of these tools facilitates the surgical intervention and helps to prevent postoperative complications.