title: Acute necrotizing herpetic tonsillitis: a report of two cases.
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.
authors: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, dr.burhan@hotmail.com.
authors: Walaa M
authors: WM
authors: Borhan
authors: Mohammed A
authors: MA
authors: Dababo
authors: Lester D R
authors: LD
authors: Thompson
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Saleem
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Pashley
mesh_terms: D000212:Acyclovir / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014069:Tonsillitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000212:Acyclovir