Study of Ulcero-membranous Lesions of Tonsil in an Indian Scenario

• Published in: Indian journal of otolaryngology, and head, and neck surgery and head, and neck surgery, 2017-03, Vol.69 (1), p.16-19
• Main Authors: Sridhar Reddy, D., Shoban Babu, A., Rathod, J. B. S., Sravan Kumar, Ch, Rajesh, S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacterial infections; Head and Neck Surgery; Immunization; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original; Original Article; Otorhinolaryngology; Tonsillitis; Vaccines
• ISSN: 2231-3796; 0973-7707
• DOI: 10.1007/s12070-016-0994-0

‘Ulcero-membranous lesions over tonsil’ is a special entity, which puzzles every physician and surgeon because of it’s diverse etiology. Every insult to the tonsil heals by ulcer and later membrane formation. A retrospective study has been conducted at our institute to analyse the cases of ulcero-membranous lesions of tonsil in terms of etiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment protocols and outcome in an Indian context. Diphtheria, if not detected early and treated, can lead to significant morbidity and mortality because of critical complications. Diphtheria mainly affects children aged between 1 and 5 years, however, due to good vaccine coverage, a shift in age incidence has been observed from preschool to school age (5–15 years) with more and more cases now being reported in adults. The health agencies and the government will have to take maximum efforts to increase immunization coverage as India has witnessed the highest number of cases in the world for the year 2015.