EVALUATING THE OUTCOMES OF TONSILLECTOMY IN PATIENTS WITH PERITONSILLAR ABSCESS AT THE NATIONAL OTORHINOLARYNGOLOGY HOSPITAL OF VIETNAM

Objectives: To evaluate the outcomes of tonsillectomy in patients with peritonsillar abscess treated at the National Otorhinolaryngology Hospital of Vietnam. Methods: This was a descriptive case series with retrospective and prospective components and no control group, involving 44 patients diagnosed with peritonsillar abscess who underwent tonsillectomy during the acute abscess stage. The study variables included intraoperative blood loss, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, pain intensity assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), length of hospital stay, and postoperative complications. Results: Mean intraoperative blood loss was 20.6 ± 7.2 mL. Mean CRP decreased from 98.7 mg/L preoperatively to 9.4 mg/L on postoperative day 5 (p < 0.001). Mean VAS decreased from 8.77 ± 0.85 to 0.68 ± 0.67 over the same period (p < 0.001). Two patients (4.5%) developed secondary grade I post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage, both were managed conservatively without reoperation. No severe infectious complication was recorded during hospitalization. Mean length of stay was 7.02 ± 1.78 days. Conclusions: In patients with peritonsillar abscess, particularly those with difficult-to-access abscesses or failure of conservative management, quinsy tonsillectomy was associated with early improvements in clinical symptoms and inflammatory markers, with a low observed complication rate.