The most important throat-related symptoms suggestive of chronic tonsillitis as the main indication for adult tonsillectomy.

Background and Objective. The literature lacks data about the evaluation of throatrelated symptoms proving chronic tonsillitis as the most common indication for adult tonsillectomy. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the most important throat-related symptoms suggestive of chronic tonsillitis in adults. Material and Methods. A prospective cohort study was carried out. The analysis of throatrelated symptoms (complaints, tonsillitis rate, pharyngeal signs, and antistreptolysin-O titer) in 81 adults with histologically confirmed chronic tonsillitis was conducted. Results. Recurrent tonsillitis was the most common complaint (74.1%). The mean number of tonsillitis episodes was 3.6 (SD, 1.9) times per year. There were no significant differences comparing the frequencies of all the analyzed pharyngeal signs (P>0.05). The antistreptolysin-O titer (mean, 279.8; SD, 211.6 UL) was pathological in 33.3% of patients. The study identified the most important throat-related symptoms revealing chronic tonsillitis: tonsillar cryptic debris (OR, 8.84; 95% CI, 1.93–40.53; P=0.005) and enlarged anterior cervical lymph nodes along with the frequency of tonsillitis episodes exceeding 3 times per year (OR, 8.27; 95% CI, 1.33–51.57; P=0.024). The classification accuracy of 85.2% was obtained. Conclusions. Tonsillar cryptic debris and enlarged regional lymph nodes along with recurrent tonsillitis could support the diagnosis of chronic tonsillitis in adults when considering tonsillectomy.