The role of bacteriological examination in diagnosis of chronic tonsillitis

A bacteriological examination was made in 105 patients with various forms of chronic tonsillitis. Eighteen cultures of beta-hemolytic streptococcus (BHSA) were isolated from 36 patients with paratonsillar abscesses. BHSA seeding in paratonsillar abscess was 50.0%. Eight BHSA cultures were isolated from 69 patients with chronic tonsillitis. BHSA seeding in chronic tonsillitis was 11.6%. Adequate set of culture media for BHSA growth was optimized. The technique of the sample collection from tonsillar lacunes was improved. The significance of bacteriological diagnosis of chronic tonsillitis increases considerably due to optimization of out- and intralaboratory tests at the preanalytic stage of the study.