This study was performed to find out the effectiveness of three different treatments of patients having acute tonsillopharyngitis. Three groups of patients were selected (50 patients in each group). Group I received one antibiotic according to the result of culture and sensitivity test, while groups II and III received two antibiotics or one antibiotic respectively without a culture and sensitivity test. Diagnosis was based on the acutely subjective symptoms of sore throat and positive clinical examination findings. The effectiveness of treatment in group I (96 per cent) was statistically significant (p<0.05) and higher than group II (82 per cent) and group III (74 per cent), while the difference between group II and III was not statistically significant (p>0.05).

Our findings demonstrate that a culture and sensitivity test of the throat swab is necessary before treating acute tonsillopharyngitis. It was suggested that there should be appropriate selection of antibiotics to preserve normal flora, avoidance antibiotics for viral infections, patient compliance with prescription and educational programmes directed at patients and physicians. All of these measures would assist in reducing the volume of antibiotic use, bacterial resistance and the overall cost of treatment of tonsillopharyngitis.