This paper reports on the experience of using vaccination in the treatment of recurrent
tonsillitis. All of the 82 patients, who were aged between 5 and 67 years and who suffered from recurrent
tonsillitis, were given an injection of a
bacterial vaccine (
Broncasma Berna, Swiss Serum Institute, Berne) that has been used in many countries for three decades. A dose of 0.05 ml was given once every 4 to 14 days (average once a week) on 3 to 20 occasions (average 8). The treatment prevented 75 of the 82 patients (91%) from having attacks of recurrent
tonsillitis for extended periods. These 75 patients included three who relapsed into recurrent
tonsillitis in spite of having
tonsillectomies. As the dose used was relatively small, none of the patients complained of spontaneous
pain or
fever although three complained of slight tenderness at the injection point on the following day. The effect on recurrent
tonsillitis of the
Paspat intracutaneous injection (Luitpold Werk, Munich) has also been investigated recently. It was effective in two patients who did not respond to
Broncasma Berna. In this retrospective study, low doses of
bacterial vaccine reduced the incidence of recurrent
tonsillitis and were well tolerated.