Fatal myocarditis associated with peritonsillar abscess

A case report of a patient with tonsillitis and peritonsillar abscess, who subsequently developed fatal myocarditis, is presented. The clinical course and pathological findings are outlined. The rare association of tonsillitis and pharyngitis with non-rheumatic, non-diphtheritic, non-fatal myocarditis was recognized and reported in the pre and early antibiotic era. The present reported case is only the second recent description of fatal myocarditis associated with tonsillitis, and the first ever reported in the English Otolaryngologic literature.