Case presentation

A 36-year-old otherwise healthy man who presents with two weeks of sore throat and associated hoarse voice, followed by 5 days of odynophagia. He denies fevers or chills. He does not smoke tobacco.

No medical or surgical history. No home medications. No allergies.

Triage vital signs

BP: 135/83 mm Hg, heart rate: 61, temperature: 36.8°C, respirations: 16, SpO₂: 100%.

Physical examination

Young man resting comfortably in bed. Non-toxic appearing. The patient was noted to have a ‘hot potato’ voice. Examination apart from intraoral was benign. Oral examination was notable for bilateral erythematous and swollen peritonsillar regions, left greater than right (figure 1).

Laboratory data

None were drawn.

Point-of-care ultrasound

Questions

1. What are the indications for performing a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) of the peritonsillar region?

   Indications for this examination include evaluating for peritonsillar abscess. A peritonsillar abscess typically progresses from tonsillitis to peritonsillar cellulitis and then grows into an abscess. As with most soft-tissue infections, ultrasound can be used as a medium for diagnosing abscesses.1

2. Which probe is most ideal in the assessment of peritonsillar region?

   Images are obtained by with the use of the endocavitary transducer. Remember to keep your thumb aligned with the marker dot when using the endocavitary probe and to …