Bacteriology and antibiotic sensitivity of tonsillar diseases in Chinese children

Although many bacteriology studies on tonsillar diseases have been completed, only a few studies investigated bacteriology of tonsillar diseases in recent years, especially in Asian children population. The aim of our study is to elucidate the bacterial flora and antibiotic sensitivity of tonsillar diseases in Chinese children. A three-center study was performed on 2994 children with or without tonsillar diseases. We compared and analyzed differences of bacterial pathogens among recurrent tonsillitis, tonsillar hypertrophy and controls. We found that on the surface of tonsil, Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae were noted in the order given in the recurrent tonsillitis (RT) group. In the tonsillar hypertrophy (TH) and control group, H. influenzae, S. aureus and S. pneumoniae were noted in the order given. For the core of tonsil, H. influenzae, S. aureus and β-hemolytic streptococcus were noted in the order given in both RT and TH group. S. aureus and H. influenzae were the most prevalent types of bacteria present in cultures containing two strains in the RT and TH group, respectively. We also observed some differences in the types of bacteria in the surface and core between the recurrent tonsillitis and tonsillar hypertrophy groups. Our study provides recent bacteria distribution and antibiotic sensitivity for tonsillar diseases in Chinese children and will be helpful in the treatment of these diseases.