A 28-year-old man arrives at the emergency department complaining of a sore throat. The pain has been increasing over the last few days and he is now finding it difficult to open his mouth. He has stopped eating and is only tolerating small amounts of fluid. He appears uncomfortable and has difficulty in speaking as a result of his pain. Two days ago he saw his general practitioner, who prescribed him some oral antibiotics and analgesia for mild He suffers from Examination An oral examination, with a tongue depressor, is difficult due to trismus but reveals a unilateral left-sided tonsillar swelling with a diffuse edematous ‘bulge’ superior and lateral to the tonsil.
As a result, the uvula is deviated to the contralateral side. The left tonsil has some exudate on its surface. There is a palpable jugulodigastric lymph node on the left. Temperature : 39.0°C PR : 115/min Hb : 14.8 g/dL WCC…
