Chronic Tonsillitis Can Be Diagnosed with Histopathologic Findings

Aim: The objective was to identify histopathologic findings of the chronic tonsillitis in the palatine tonsils. Methods: 480 palatine tonsillectomy specimens obtained from 240 patients were included in this study. 120 (66 males, 54 female) chronic tonsillitis patients and as control group 120 (60 males, 60 female) chronic adenotonsillar hypertrophy patients underwent bilateral tonsillectomy. Eight histopathologic criteria were investigated all palatine tonsils. Results: All histopathologic criteria showed a statistically significant difference between chronic tonsillitis and chronic adenotonsillar hypertrophy (p=0.0001 to p=0.006). Although seven criteria were more closely associated with chronic tonsillitis (p=0.0001 to p=0.001), only one criteria (the presence of lymphoid hyperplasia) was higher in chronic adenotonsillar hypertrophy compared chronic tonsillitis (p=0.006). Histopathological examination showed the presence of slight-moderate lymphocyte infiltration in the surface epithelium and the presence of Ugras’s abscess and/or diffuse lymphocyte infiltration leading to the defect in the surface epithelium in 97and 93 vs 25 and 5 % in chronic tonsillitis and chronic adenotonsillar hypertrophy, respectively. Conclusion: Chronic tonsillitis may be diagnosed on tonsillectomy materials with fairly characteristic and reliable histopathologic criteria. Because three reliable histopathologic criteria were seen almost all of the patients with chronic tonsillitis. Slight-moderate lymphocyte infiltration and the presence of Ugras’s abscess and/or diffuse lymphocyte infiltration leading to the defect in the surface epithelium not present in normal tonsils. These findings are observed in 97, 93% in chronic tonsillitis, respectively. Therefore, combination of these findings with other histopathological findings are fairly diagnostic for chronic tonsillitis.