OBJECTIVE:

Chronic tonsillitis is the persistent inflammation of the tonsillar tissue that occurs due to recurrent, acute or subclinical infection. The recurrent and chronic inflammation of palatine tonsils sometimes results in hypertrophy. Apoptosis provides an important balance between lymphocytes in tonsillar lymphoid tissue. The aim of this study is to investigate the apoptosis in tonsillar diseases.

METHODS:

43 patients with chronic tonsilitis and tonsillar hypertrophy underwent tonsillectomy. The specimens were examined immunohistochemically for apoptosis. Tonsils were assembled into groups according to their size. Specimens were compared for their apoptotic cell count.

RESULTS:

The apoptosis difference between the tonsil size groups is not statistically significant (p>0.05). However, when the study group was divided into two at age 6, the difference was not statistically significant for patients at and below 6 years of age; but, the difference was statistically significant for patients above 6 years of age (p<0.05). The comparison of apoptosis in microcompartments of tonsil tissue (intrafollicular, interfollicular, subepithelial and intraepithelial) between tonsil size stages and between chronic tonsillitis and tonsillar hypertrophy groups revealed no statistical significance (p>0.05). There was a statistically significant positive correlation between intrafollicular and interfollicular, interfollicular and intraepithelial & subepithelial and intraepithelial areas (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

In the light of these findings, it was concluded that apoptosis played a role in the tonsillar hypertrophy and atrophy. Apoptosis functioned to balance lymphocyte proliferation in tonsil tissue. The association of apoptosis with tonsillar hypertrophy seemed to be age-dependent.