Introduction: Smoking has not properly been investigated as a predisposing factor for the development of a peritonsillar abscess.
Methods: In a retrospective study a group of 541 abscess tonsillectomies--performed in the department of Otorhinolaryngology (University of Duisburg/Essen) between 1994-2003--was retrospectively analysed for smoking habits of the patients. Further on we investigated the influence of smoking on the risk for a postoperative haemorrhage.
Results: Smoking habits of 519/541 were known, 296/519 (57%) were smokers, which is much more than expected with regard to the prevalence of smokers in the German population. Beneath the 2.2% of patients with a postoperative haemorrhage that had to be arrested under general anaesthesia no statistical relation between the occurrence of a postoperative haemorrhage and smoking was found.
Conclusion: Smoking could be an important predisposing factor for the development of peritonsillar abscess e. g. due to alteration of the mucosa and microbiological changes. We could not identify a statistical relation between smoking and the risk of a postoperative haemorrhage after tonsillectomy à chaud.