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Tonsillitis
Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, and enlarged lymph nodes around the neck. Complications include peritonsillar abscess, peritonsillar abscess (quinsy). Tonsillitis is most commonly caused by a viral infection and about 5% to 40% of cases are caused by a bacterial infection.Lang 2009p. 2083./ref> When caused by the bacterium group A streptococcus, it is classed as streptococcal tonsillitis also referred to as ''strep throat''. Rarely bacteria such as ''Neisseria gonorrhoeae'', ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae'', or ''Haemophilus influenzae'' may be the cause. Typically the infection is spread between people through the air. A scoring system, such as the Centor score, may help separate possible causes. Confirmation may be by a throat swab or rapid strep test. Treatment efforts in ...
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Tonsillectomy
Tonsillectomy is a surgical procedure in which both palatine tonsils are fully removed from the back of the throat. The procedure is mainly performed for recurrent tonsillitis, throat infections and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). For those with frequent throat infections, surgery results in 0.6 (95% confidence interval: 1.0 to 0.1) fewer sore throats in the following year, but there is no evidence of long term benefits. In children with OSA, it results in improved quality of life. While generally safe, complications may include bleeding, vomiting, dehydration, trouble eating, and trouble talking. Throat pain typically lasts about one to two weeks after surgery. Bleeding occurs in about 1% within the first day and another 2% after that. Between 1 in 2,360 and 1 in 56,000 procedures cause death. Tonsillectomy does not appear to affect long term immune function. Following the surgery, ibuprofen and paracetamol (acetaminophen) may be used to treat postoperative pain. The surge ...
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Inflammation
Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function (Latin ''calor'', ''dolor'', ''rubor'', ''tumor'', and ''functio laesa''). Inflammation is a generic response, and therefore is considered a mechanism of innate immunity, whereas adaptive immunity is specific to each pathogen. Inflammation is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecular mediators. The function of inflammation is to eliminate the initial cause of cell injury, clear out damaged cells and tissues, and initiate tissue repair. Too little inflammation could lead to progressive tissue destruction by the harmful stimulus (e.g. bacteria) and compromise the survival of the organism. However inflammation can also have negative effects. Too much inflammation, in the form of chronic inflammation, is associated with variou ...
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Streptococcal Pharyngitis
Streptococcal pharyngitis, also known as streptococcal sore throat (strep throat), is pharyngitis (an infection of the pharynx, the back of the throat) caused by '' Streptococcus pyogenes'', a gram-positive, group A streptococcus. Common symptoms include fever, sore throat, red tonsils, and enlarged lymph nodes in the front of the neck. A headache and nausea or vomiting may also occur. Some develop a sandpaper-like rash which is known as scarlet fever. Symptoms typically begin one to three days after exposure and last seven to ten days. Strep throat is spread by respiratory droplets from an infected person, spread by talking, coughing or sneezing, or by touching something that has droplets on it and then touching the mouth, nose, or eyes. It may be spread directly through touching infected sores. It may also be spread by contact with skin infected with group A strep. The diagnosis is made based on the results of a rapid antigen detection test or throat culture. Some p ...
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Sore Throat
Sore throat, also known as throat pain, is pain or irritation of the throat. The majority of sore throats are caused by a virus, for which antibiotics are not helpful. For sore throat caused by bacteria (GAS), treatment with antibiotics may help the person get better faster, reduce the risk that the bacterial infection spreads, prevent retropharyngeal abscesses and quinsy, and reduce the risk of other complications such as rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. In most developed countries, post-streptococcal diseases have become far less common. For this reason, awareness and public health initiatives to promote minimizing the use of antibiotics for viral infections have become the focus. Approximately 35% of childhood sore throats and 5–25% of cases in adults are caused by a bacterial infection from group A streptococcus. Sore throats that are "non-group A streptococcus" are assumed to be caused by a viral infection. Sore throat is a common reason for people to vi ...
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Blausen 0860 Tonsils&Throat Anatomy
Blausen Medical Communications, Inc. (BMC) is the creator and owner of a library of two- and three-dimensional medical and scientific images and animations, a developer of information technology allowing access to that content, and a business focused on licensing and distributing the content. It was founded by Bruce Blausen in Houston, Texas, in 1991, and is privately held. Background Blausen Medical Communications is a privately held company founded by Bruce Blausen in Houston, Texas in 1991. BMC created and owns a library of medical and scientific images and animations, and has developed information technology tools allowing access to the library; as well, it licenses and otherwise works to distribute the content. As of this date, BMC's animation library comprised approximately 1,500 animations and over 27,000 two- and three-dimensional images designed for point-of-care patient education, which could be accessed by consumers or professional caregivers (primarily via hospital o ...
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Antimicrobial Resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR or AR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from antimicrobials, which are drugs used to treat infections. This resistance affects all classes of microbes, including bacteria (antibiotic resistance), viruses (antiviral resistance), Parasitic disease, parasites (antiparasitic resistance), and fungi (antifungal resistance). Together, these adaptations fall under the AMR umbrella, posing significant challenges to healthcare worldwide. Misuse and improper management of antimicrobials are primary drivers of this resistance, though it can also occur naturally through genetic mutations and the spread of resistant genes. Antibiotic resistance, a significant AMR subset, enables bacteria to survive antibiotic treatment, complicating infection management and treatment options. Resistance arises through spontaneous mutation, horizontal gene transfer, and increased selective pressure from Antibiotic misuse, antibiotic overuse, both in medicin ...
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Macrolides
Macrolides are a class of mostly natural products with a large macrocycle, macrocyclic lactone ring to which one or more deoxy sugars, usually cladinose and desosamine, may be attached. Macrolides belong to the polyketide class of natural products. Some macrolides have antibiotic or antifungal activity and are used as pharmaceutical drugs. Rapamycin is also a macrolide and was originally developed as an antifungal, but has since been used as an immunosuppressant drug and is being investigated as a potential Life extension, longevity therapeutic. Macrolides are a diverse group with many members of very different properties: * Macrolides with 14-, 15-, or 16-membered rings and two attached sugar molecules are antibiotics that bind to bacterial ribosomes, the key representative being erythromycin. The term "macrolide antibiotics" tend to refer to just this class. * Some macrolides with very large (20+ membered) rings are immunosuppresants, the prototypical one being rapamycin. * S ...
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Cephalosporins
The cephalosporins (sg. ) are a class of β-lactam antibiotics originally derived from the fungus ''Acremonium'', which was previously known as ''Cephalosporium''. Together with cephamycins, they constitute a subgroup of β-lactam antibiotics called cephems. Cephalosporins were discovered in 1945, and first sold in 1964. Discovery The aerobic organism, aerobic mold which wikt:yield, yielded cephalosporin C was found in the sea near a sewage outfall in Su Siccu, by Cagliari harbour in Sardinia, by the Italians, Italian pharmacologist Giuseppe Brotzu in July 1945. Structure Cephalosporin contains a 6-membered dihydrothiazine ring. Substitutions at position 3 generally affect pharmacology; substitutions at position 7 affect antibacterial activity, but these cases are not always true. Medical uses Cephalosporins can be indicated for the prophylaxis and treatment of infections caused by bacteria susceptible to this particular form of antibiotic. First-generation cephalospori ...
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Centor Score
The Centor criteria are a set of criteria which may be used to identify the likelihood of a bacterial infection in patients complaining of a sore throat. They were developed as a method to quickly diagnose the presence of Group A streptococcal infection or diagnosis of streptococcal pharyngitis in "adult patients who presented to an urban emergency room complaining of a sore throat." The Centor criteria are named after Robert M. Centor, an internist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. Criteria The patients are judged on four criteria, with one point added for each positive criterion: * Absence of cough * Tonsillar exudates (ooze) * History of fever * Tender anterior cervical adenopathy The modified Centor criteria also incorporate the patient's age: * Age under 15 add 1 point * Age over 44 subtract 1 point Mnemonic using criteria name A mnemonic to remember Centor is: * C – Cough absent, or the incorrect but memorable "Can't Cough" * E – Exudate * ...
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Haemophilus Influenzae
''Haemophilus influenzae'' (formerly called Pfeiffer's bacillus or ''Bacillus influenzae'') is a Gram-negative, Motility, non-motile, Coccobacillus, coccobacillary, facultative anaerobic organism, facultatively anaerobic, Capnophile, capnophilic pathogenic bacterium of the family Pasteurellaceae. The bacteria are Mesophile, mesophilic and grow best at temperatures between 35 and 37 °C. ''H. influenzae'' was first described in 1893 by Richard Friedrich Johannes Pfeiffer, Richard Pfeiffer during an influenza pandemic when he incorrectly identified it as the causative microbe, which is why the bacteria was given the name "influenzae". ''H. influenzae'' is responsible for a wide range of localized and invasive infections, typically in infants and children, including pneumonia, meningitis, or bloodstream infections. Treatment consists of antibiotics; however, ''H. influenzae'' is often resistant to the penicillin family, but amoxicillin/clavulanic acid can be used in mild cases ...
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Corynebacterium Diphtheriae
''Corynebacterium diphtheriae'' is a Gram-positive pathogenic bacterium that causes diphtheria. It is also known as the Klebs–Löffler bacillus because it was discovered in 1884 by German bacteriologists Edwin Klebs (1834–1912) and Friedrich Löffler (1852–1915). These bacteria are usually harmless, unless they are infected by a bacteriophage carrying a gene which gives rise to a microbial toxin, toxin. This toxin causes the disease. Diphtheria is caused by the adhesion and infiltration of the bacteria into the mucosal layers of the body, primarily affecting the respiratory tract and causing the subsequent release of an exotoxin. The toxin has a localized effect on skin lesions, as well as a metastatic, proteolytic effects on other organ systems in severe infections. Originally a major cause of childhood mortality, diphtheria has been almost entirely eradicated due to the vigorous administration of the diphtheria vaccination in the 1910s. Diphtheria is no longer transmitted ...
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Neisseria Gonorrhoeae
''Neisseria gonorrhoeae'', also known as ''gonococcus'' (singular) or ''gonococci'' (plural), is a species of Gram-negative diplococci bacteria first isolated by Albert Ludwig Sigesmund Neisser, Albert Neisser in 1879. An obligate human pathogen, it primarily colonizes the mucosal lining of the urogenital tract; however, it is also capable of adhering to the mucosa of the nose, pharynx, rectum, and conjunctiva. It causes the sexually transmitted infection, sexually transmitted genitourinary infection gonorrhea as well as other forms of gonococcal disease including disseminated gonococcemia, septic arthritis, and gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum. ''N. gonorrhoeae'' is Oxidase test, oxidase positive and a microaerophile that is capable of surviving Phagocyte, phagocytosis and growing inside neutrophils. Microbiological culture, Culturing it requires carbon dioxide supplementation and enriched agar (chocolate agar) with various antibiotics (Thayer–Martin agar, Thayer–Martin). ...
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