Priit Kasenõmm

Indicators for Tonsillectomy in Adults with Recurrent Tonsillitis: Clinical, Microbiological and Pathomorphological Investigations Priit Kasenõmm

Palatine tonsils are a part of the immune system in the upper aerodigestive tract that serves as the first line of defence against harmful environmental factors. Paradoxically, palatine tonsils themselves are quite frequently affected by infectious agents, which may lead to recurrent tonsillitis. A leading therapeutic approach for such a condition has been tonsillectomy. The recommendation for tonsillectomy has depended primarily on the frequency of tonsillitis episodes. However, there is no worldwide agreement whether a specific number of tonsillitis episodes over a certain period of time warrants tonsillectomy. Adult patients often have fewer or less severe tonsillitis episodes, but frequently demonstrate systemic manifestations of chronic inflammation, such as poor general health, tiredness, lowered resistance, tendency to catch colds, unexplained fever or the presence of comorbid diseases. There is no consensus whether such features of recurrent tonsillitis could be accepted as the indications for tonsillectomy. Therefore, the present book focuses on the selection of evidence-based indicators for tonsillectomy in adults with recurrents tonsillitis.