Tonsillitis (cont.)

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Medical Author:

Joseph Lauro, MD

Coauthor:

Erik D Barton, MD, MS

Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Tonsillitis Diagnosis

The doctor will conduct a physical examination. Sore throats caused by viruses may look exactly like those caused by bacteria.

The doctor looks for these conditions:

Signs of infection (redness, discharge, swollen lymph glands)
Abscess (a shift in one tonsil toward the center and a shift of the uvula away from the infected side)
Airway compromise (muffled speech, drooling, and inability to swallow)
The doctor may order diagnostic tests that will look for strep infection. In some cases, the doctor may start antibiotic treatment without tests.
If the doctor performs a rapid diagnostic test with a swab specimen from the back of the throat, positive results for strep throat may be available during the office visit. However, it typically takes 24-48 hours to confirm rapid test results of a bacterial infection.
Rarely, other conditions such as diphtheria, a foreign body, or cancer may start with a sore throat. If an abscess or a more worrisome condition (cancer, diphtheria) appears to be present, the doctor may consult an ear, nose, and throat specialist.