Objectives: This study was undertaken to seek the correlation between tonsillar core and tonsillar crypt cultures and study the incidence of beta- lactamase producing bacteria (BLPB) in chronic tonsillitis patients.
Material and Method: The study was carried out in Department of Otolaryngology from Feb 2000 to Dec 2001. Patients with chronic tonsillitis who underwent tonsillectomy were enrolled, and culture results from tonsillar crypts were compared with tonsillar core.
Results: The tonsil were removed from 61 patients. Age ranging from 2-14 years (n=21) and 15-50 years (N= 40 ); H. influenza (25.2%), S.aureus (23.4%), and S. viridian (11.3%) were isolated from tonsillar core, while 25.9% and 24% of organisms isolated from tonsillar crypt were H. influenza and S.aurieus, respectively. Correlations between tonsillar core and tonsillar crypt culture were 100% specificity for Group A beta hemolytic streptococcocus ( GABHS ), 86.2% for H.influenza and 81.5% for S.aureus. Regarding beta-lactamase production, 29.2% of H.influenza were beta lactamase producing bacteria (BLPB), while 88.9% of S.aureus were BLPB.
Conclusion: The present study demonstrates a high correlation in cultures obtained from tonsillar crypt and tonsillar core. The difference in isolated technique may account for the higher correlation when compared to previous studies. The incidence of beta- lactamase producing bacteria in chronic tonsillitis was high.

Keywords: Tonsillar crypt, Tonsillar core, Bacteriology, Beta-lactamase