Treatment of Peritonsillar Abscess: Needle Aspiration versus Incision and Drainage

Background and Objectives: The Objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of the needle aspiration method and the I&D method in the treatment of peritonsillar abscess. Materials and Methods: A prospective clinical study was performed on 83 patients. All the patients were hospitalized after random treatment with either I&D or needle aspiration alone, received the same intravenous antibiotic therapy. Among the 83 patients, 73 patients who could be observed for longer than 6 months and had not undergone a tonsillectomy during the follow-up period, were analyzed for treatment outcomes. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the initial failure rate(p=0.572), the hospitalized days(p=0.956), the recurrence rate(p=0.531) for the needle aspiration(35 patients) and I&D groups(38 patients). But, The mean duration of fever were statistically different in the needle aspiration(1.51 hours) and I&D groups(3.05 hours) (p=0.031). Conclusion: Two methods are thought to be similar in effectiveness, except that duration of fever was longer in the I&D group than in the needle aspiration group. However, taking advantages of the needle aspiration method into consideration, the needle aspiration of peritonsillar abscess may be more appropriate than I&D as an initial method for peritonsillar abscess