Peritonsillar Phlegmon: An Addition to the Spectrum of COVID-19

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, then declared to be a pandemic associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. It has shown to exhibit a vast array of symptoms, among which fever, shortness of breath, and cough are the most commonly reported. Lymphadenopathy and tonsillar enlargement is a less common finding reported with this infection. This case describes a patient with tonsillar inflammation which was complicated by peritonsillar phlegmon, with negative throat culture and positive COVID-19 test, suggesting a COVID-19-related etiology of the disease. After the literature search, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of COVID-related peritonsillar inflammation and phlegmon formation.

Keywords: covid-19; lymphadenopathy; peritonsillar phlegmon; tonsillitis.

Figure 1. Right tonsillar enlargement and peritonsillar tracking