Acute pharyngitis is an inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa and submucosa mostly involving the lymphoid tissue. It is usually caused by viruses or bacteria. Symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat, and pain when swallowing. Examination shows redness and swelling of the throat. Chronic pharyngitis is a diffuse inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa and tissue that can be caused by repeated acute infections, local irritants, or systemic diseases. Symptoms are variable but include a sore throat. Examination reveals potential redness, swelling, or thinning of the mucosa. Treatment focuses on the cause, local soothing measures, and targeting hypertrophic tissues. Chronic ph

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Acute Pharyngitis

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Acute Pharyngitis
Definition*:
acute inflammation of pharyngeal
mucosa and submucosa, mostly
invovled in pharyngeal lymphoid tissue.

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Etiology
1. Virus*
2. Bacteria*
3. Invironmental Factors*

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Pathology
Acute inflammation of the pharyngeal
mucosal tissue:
Blood vessels dilatation
Inflammatory cells infiltration
mucosal swelling*

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Clinical Appearances
◆ Symptoms
1. fever, headache
2 . pharyngeal driness and painess, pain when swallowing
◆ Examination
pharyngeal mucosal congestion, swelling, edema of uvula
and soft palate, enlargement of the lympoid nodules on the
posterior wall of the pharynx , and the glands on each side
of the neck are usually swollen and tender

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Diagnosis and Differential Diagnosis
◆ Diagnosis:
history, symptoms, signs (examinations).
◆ Differential Diagnosis:
acute infectious diseases (measles,
scarlet fever,etc.)

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Complications
◆ involved in adjacent organs: otitis media,
sinusitis , and acute respiratory inflammation.
◆ others: acute nephritis, rheumatic fever, and
septicemia, etc.

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Treatment
◆ Non general symptoms or light symptoms:
local treatment, such as gargle, lozenge, etc.
◆ severe general symptoms: rest in bed, more
drink, antivirus, antibiotics
◆ Chinese Medicine

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Chronic Pharyngitis

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Chronic Pharyngitis
Definition*:
diffuse inflammation of pharyngeal
mucosa and submucosa, and pharyngeal
lymphoid tissue.

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Etiology
1. Local Factors ：
◆ repeat relapse of acute pharyngitis
◆ affected by adjacent organs ： nose, tonsils.
◆ bad irritants
2. General Factors ：
◆ General chronic diseases: anemia, dyspepsia, lower
respiratory chronic diseases, cardiovascular diseases,
etc.
◆ allergic factors

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Pathology
● Chronic simple pharyngitis: chronic mucosal
congestion, gland hypertrophy, hypersecretion.
● Chronic hypertrophic pharyngitis: mucosal
congestion, pharyngeal lympoid tissue hypertrophy.
● Atrophic pharyngitis and pharyngitis sicca: seldom
seen, etiology is unknown, hyposecretion, mucosa is
thin.

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Clinical Appearances
◆Symptoms
the description given of the symptoms varies
greatly with individuals, no general symptoms,
simple sore throat, a pricking or irritation as of a
foreign body, or an accumulation of mucus
causing a constant necessity to swallow.

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Clinical Appearances
◆ Examination
Chronic simple pharyngitis: mucosal congestion, vessels dilitation,
scatted lympoid follicles in pharyngeal posterior wall.
Chronic hypertrophic pharyngitis: mucosa menbrane is thickened
and reddened, a degree of edema of uvula may be found,
increase in size of lympoid islands in the mucosa of pharyngeal
posterior wall.
Atrophic pharyngitis and pharyngitis sicca: mucosa menbrane is
thin and pale colour, mucosa is driness, often attached thick
secretion.

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history, symptoms, signs
(examinations).
Diagnosis

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Treatment
1. Etiologic therapy: eliminate anything which tends
to prolong the inflammation, altering the patient’s
habits ( food,tobacco, alcohol,etc.) , excises.
2. Local therapy: soothing gargle ,Chinese
Medicines.
3. Target therapy:
hypertropic type of diseases---cautery or
diathermy or laser

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Treatment Efficiency
The therapy is intractable and unsatisfactory
because of a high tendency to recurrence
and relapse.