Abstract â–¡ 177

The most common cause of upper airway obstruction in children is adenotonsillar hypertrophy. These children are prone to hypoventilation during sleep, pulmonary hypotension, heart failure and rarely, cor pulmonale. Less severe symptoms include failure to thrive, hypersomnolence and hyponasal speech.

We present a rare case of a child with bilateral peritonsillar abscess causing acute upper airway obstruction. This child was known to have huge kissing tonsils, on top of which the formation of the abscess caused the acute airway obstruction. This case emphasizes the need for tonsillectomy whenever there is an airway obstruction due to hypertrophy of the tonsils.