Evaluation of antibiotic sensitivity pattern in acute tonsillitis

Background: The use of antibiotics against different pathogens in acute tonsillitis has been the general trend through the years. Penicillin has been the drug of choice for the management. But due to increased incidence of resistance in case of penicillin’s, other antibiotics are also used for the treatment of acute tonsillitis. The study was conducted with the objective to find out the antibiotic sensitivity and susceptibility pattern against microbial pathogens in acute tonsillitis. Methods: Our prospective observational study was carried out in the otorhinolaryngology department in Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre. The period of study was from June 2015 to August 2015. After getting approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) throat swabs were collected randomly from 50 patients visiting the ENT OPD. An informed consent was obtained from every patient who was a part of this study before commencing the study. Results: The commonly used antibiotics showed a higher resistance pattern as compared to the less commonly used antibiotics. Ampicillin and Amoxicillin showed poor sensitivity results in case of both Streptococci as well as Staphylococci . Conclusions: Study findings therefore helped in perusing a guarded and judicious use of antibiotics in cases of acute tonsillitis and will thus help in improving the quality of antibiotic therapy provided to the patient.