Spontaneous tonsillar bleeding; secondary to acute tonsillitis in children.

Serious spontaneous tonsillar bleeding in three children was considered with respect to cause(s) and therapy. In two of the children the cause was related to streptococcal infection, and to hemophilus in the third child. A clinical and laboratory follow-up on our diagnosis indicated an infectious cause in each instance, inducing superficial vascular wall erosion. In our clinic the incidence of this relatively rare medical phenomenon in 254 cases of acute tonsillitis, has been only 1.2%. The children were successfully treated with conservative local treatment, such as cauterization and systemic antibiotics.