Abstract
The finding of herpetic tonsillitis is rare. Tonsillectomies are usually done for children with recurrent chronic tonsillitis, while viral throat infections are generally self-limiting. We present two cases: A 5 year-old girl, with atypical hemolytic anemia managed with Eculizumab, who presented with a pharyngeal infection and tonsillar enlargement that did not respond to intravenous antibiotics or antifungal therapies; and a 30 year-old man who presented with upper airway obstruction and fever; bilateral tonsillectomies were performed. Histopathological examination showed a necrotizing tonsillitis with numerous ground-glass intranuclear inclusions, characteristic of herpes viral infection, further confirmed by Herpes simplex virus in situ hybridization. Both patients were managed by intravenous Acyclovir, with dramatic improvement.
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Borhan, W.M., Dababo, M.A., Thompson, L.D.R. et al. Acute Necrotizing Herpetic Tonsillitis: A Report of Two Cases. Head and Neck Pathol 9, 119–122 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-013-0516-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-013-0516-2