[Peritonsillar abscess: treatment guidelines]

A prospective study was carried out on 25 patients showing symptoms suggestive of peritonsillar abscess. Twelve patients were treated with i.v. antibiotics and three months later underwent tonsillectomy. Thirteen patients underwent acute tonsillectomy within 24-48 hours. In order to evaluate the benefits of acute tonsillectomy we compared three parameters; operation length, intraoperative bleeding and overall length of hospitalization.