Pediatric Palatine Tonsillar Hypertrophy

Etiology: Lymphatic tissue becomes inflammed or infected by bacteria
Imaging: Enlargement of palatine tonsil
DDX:
Complications: Palatine and adenoid tonsil enlargement are most common cause of chronic upper airway obstruction
Treatment:
Clinical:

Radiology Cases of Palatine Tonsillar Hypertrophy

Radiograph of adenoid tonsil hypertrophy and palatine tonsil hypertrophy — Lateral radiographs of the airway shows enlargement of the adenoid tonsils and the palatine tonsils.

Radiograph of palatine tonsil hypertrophy — Lateral radiograph of the airway shows enlargement of the palatine tonsils.

CT of palatine tonsil hypertrophy — Axial CT with contrast of the neck (left) shows bilaterally enlarged palatine tonsils that nearly meet in the midline, while the sagittal image (right) shows the enlarged dumbbell shaped palatine tonsils nearly occluding the airway.

Radiology Cases of Palatine Tonsillar Hypertrophy and Epiglottitis

Airway fluoroscopy of epigottitis — Lateral images of the airway from an airway fluoroscopy exam show a swollen epiglottis (thumb sign) and thickened aryepiglottic folds. The palatine tonsil is also noted to be hypertrophied.