CHRONIC TONSILLITIS IN THE ADULT: A CLINICAL, BACTERIOLOGIC AND PATHOLOGIC STUDY

A variance of opinion exists as to what clinically constitutes chronic tonsillitis 1 and the relationship which it bears to infections of the upper respiratory tract and certain systemic diseases. It has long been recognized that the tonsils as the site of chronic infection may be responsible for general disorders, 2 but a study of the recent literature 3 clearly shows that the mere removal of the tonsils only too often offers no panacea and indeed may have little or no influence on the subsequent course of the supposed associated disease. The uncertain status of tonsillectomy in such cases reasonably suggests a need of further investigation. With this object in view a study was undertaken to correlate the bacteriologic and pathologic observations on a group of twenty-five adult patients with a clinical diagnosis of chronic tonsillitis for whom tonsillectomy was recommended. The clinical criteria for the diagnosis of