Key clinical point: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a higher risk for peritonsillar abscess (PTA) and longer hospital stay than those without RA.
Major finding: The RA cohort had a significantly higher PTA incidence (incidence rate ratio, 1.73, P = .017) and cumulative incidence ( P = .016) than the non-RA cohort. PTA was also associated with a significantly longer length of hospital stay in the RA cohort vs. the non-RA cohort (6.5 ± 4.5 days vs. 4.6 ± 2.8 days; P = .045).
Study details: The data come from a real-world evidence study of 30,328 patients with RA (RA cohort) matched to 121,312 individuals without RA (non-RA cohort).
Disclosures: The study was financially supported by grants from the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Ding M-C et al. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Feb 3. doi: 10.1007/s00405-021-06638-3.