[Tonsillectomy and osteoarthritic disease]

We investigated the clinical outcome of tonsillectomy in 89 cases out of 100 cases of sternocostoclavicular hyperosteosis (SCCH) and 18 cases of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who went through the operation more than 3 months before in our hospital between April 1984 and May 1993. The effect of tonsillectomy was associated with a decrease in the degree of pain. The symptom improvement was defined as a degree of pain less than 50% of the pre-operative level. The rates of improvement were 80.9% (72/89) in SCCH and 66.7% (12/18) in RA, whole 79% of SCCH patients had pustulosis palmaris et plantaris, a known focal infection of the tonsil. Eight of nine (88.9%) patients and eleven of 13 (84.6%) patients who were positive for the tonsillar provocation test and the annulation test, respectively, showed improved SCCH postoperatively. These results suggest that focal infection of the tonsil may be one of the etiologies of SCCH and RA.