title: Management of recurrent tonsillitis in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare azithromycin (AZT) and benzathine penicillin (BP) in the treatment of recurrent tonsillitis in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study comprised of 350 children with recurrent streptococcal tonsillitis, 284 of whom completed the study and 162 children received conventional surgical treatment. The rest of the children, 122, were divided randomly into two equal main groups. Group A children received a single intramuscular BP (600,000IU for children≤27kg and 1,200,000IU for ≥27kg) every two weeks for six months. Group B children received single oral AZT (250mg for children≤25kg and 500mg for ≥25kg) once weekly for six months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both groups showed marked significant reduction in recurrent tonsillitis that is comparable to results of tonsillectomy. There were no statistical differences between group A and B regarding the recurrence of infections and drug safety after six-month follow-up. Group B showed better compliance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AZT proved to be good alternative to BP in the management of recurrent tonsillitis with results similar to those obtained after tonsillectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Diaa El Din
authors.initials: DED
authors.lastname: El Hennawi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders and Phoniatrics-Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: ahmed.geneid@hus.fi.
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Geneid
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt. Electronic address: Pedotomanager@entnet.org.
authors.forename: Salah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zaher
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt. Electronic address: m_rifaat@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mohamed Rifaat
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017963:Azithromycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D008297:Male; D010401:Penicillin G Benzathine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012008:Recurrence; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014069:Tonsillitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D017963:Azithromycin; D010401:Penicillin G Benzathine
keywords: Azithromycin; Benzathine penicillin; Chronic tonsillitis