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Acute Necrotizing Herpetic Tonsillitis: A Report of Two Cases

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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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Walaa M. Borhan & Mohammed A. Dababo

  2. Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Diseases, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    M. Saleem & N. Pashley

  3. Department of Pathology, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Woodland Hills, CA, USA

    Lester D. R. Thompson

Authors
  1. Walaa M. Borhan
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  2. Mohammed A. Dababo
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  3. Lester D. R. Thompson
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  4. M. Saleem
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  5. N. Pashley
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Walaa M. Borhan.

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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

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