Peritonsillar abscess
diseaseOn this page
Also known as quinsy
Summary
Peritonsillar abscess (MONDO:0005906) is a disease with 16 GWAS associations across 7 studies and 10 clinical trials. Top therapeutic interventions include penicillin g, penicillin v, and sulfamethoxazole. A subtype of bacterial infectious disease — broader associated-gene and molecular evidence is on the parent page (see Disease family below).
At a glance
- GWAS associations: 16
- Clinical trials: 10
Clinical features
No curated clinical features (Orphanet) for this disease.
Identifiers
Disease identifiers
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Canonical name | peritonsillar abscess |
| Mondo ID | MONDO:0005906 |
| EFO | EFO:0007429 |
| MeSH | D000039 |
| ICD-10-CM | J36 |
| ICD-11 | 1782446047 |
| NCIT | C128322 |
| SNOMED CT | 15033003 |
| UMLS | C0031157 |
| MedGen | 45819 |
| Anatomy (UBERON) | UBERON:0002373 |
| Is cancer (heuristic) | no |
Also known as: quinsy
Data availability: 16 GWAS associations (7 studies).
Disease family
This is a subtype of bacterial infectious disease. Genetic, therapeutic, and trial evidence is largely curated at the broader-term level — see the parent page for the associated-gene cohort and molecular evidence.
Classification path: disease › human disease › disease by etiologic mechanism › disease of primarily extrinsic mechanism › infectious disease › bacterial infectious disease › peritonsillar abscess
Related subtypes (51): primary bacterial infectious disease, commensal bacterial infectious disease, opportunistic bacterial infectious disease, chorioamnionitis, Clostridium difficile colitis, bacterial gastritis, bacterial arthritis, bacterial pneumonia, Whipple disease, Aeromonas hydrophila infectious disease, Pectobacterium carotovorum infection, Pseudomonas infection, septic peritonitis, bacterial infectious disease with sepsis, empyema, bacterial urinary tract infection, bacterial sexually transmitted disease, meningococcal infection, pasteurellosis, pneumonic pasteurellosis, tracheitis, Actinobacillus infectious disease, bacterial conjunctivitis, bacterial endocarditis, bacterial meningitis, Bifidobacteriales infectious disease, haemophilus infectious disease, Proteus infectious disease, pulpitis, rat-bite fever, Rickettsiosis, vibrio infectious disease, Yersinia infectious disease, bacterial myositis, noma, idiopathic severe pneumococcemia, necrotizing soft tissue infection, mycobacterial infectious disease, escherichia coli infection, gram-negative bacterial infections, gram-positive bacterial infections, spirochaetales infections, skin disease caused by bacterial infection, staphylococcal infection, anaerobic bacteria infectious disease, Klebsiella infectious disease, fournier gangrene, botryomycosis, bacterial hemorrhagic fever, Mycoplasmoides infection, Enterococcus infectious disease
Genetics & variants
GWAS landscape
16 GWAS associations across 7 studies. Top hits map to 11 distinct genes (as reported by GWAS).
Top associations by p-value
| rsID | p-value | Gene | Risk allele | Odds ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rs72553883 | 1e-14 | TNFRSF13B | ? | 1.07 |
| rs9542155 | 2e-14 | KLHL1 | ? | 0.98 |
| rs3003202 | 3e-14 | KLHL1 | ? | 1.17 |
| rs816340 | 1e-13 | SLC12A8 | ? | 1.02 |
| rs10849448 | 1e-12 | LTBR | ? | 0.98 |
| rs1045267 | 2e-12 | MIR4435-2HG | ? | 0.98 |
| rs1980080 | 9e-11 | SLC12A8 | ? | 1.15 |
| rs798490 | 3e-09 | GNA12, AMZ1 | ? | 0.98 |
| rs1456200 | 9e-09 | RDUR | ? | 1.13 |
| rs12082271 | 9e-09 | LINC01714 | ? | 0.98 |
| rs2572433 | 1e-08 | LINC00529 | ? | 0.98 |
| rs2976944 | 3e-08 | PRAG1 - LINC02949 | ? | 1.02 |
| rs1541374 | 4e-08 | RNU6-351P - TET2 | ? | 1.02 |
| rs9980837 | 7e-08 | KCNJ15 | ? | 0.89 |
Top studies (by case count)
| Study | Lead author | Year | Cases | Controls | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GCST90269781 | Saarentaus EC | 2023 | 4,863 | 199,208 | Inflammatory and infectious upper respiratory diseases associate with 41 genomic loci and type 2 inflammation. |
| GCST90269793 | Saarentaus EC | 2023 | 4,863 | 199,208 | Inflammatory and infectious upper respiratory diseases associate with 41 genomic loci and type 2 inflammation. |
| GCST90473694 | UK Biobank Whole-Genome Sequencing Consortium | 2025 | 911 | 457,529 | Whole-genome sequencing of 490,640 UK Biobank participants. |
| GCST90080119 | Backman JD | 2021 | 507 | 387,145 | Exome sequencing and analysis of 454,787 UK Biobank participants. |
| GCST90084105 | Backman JD | 2021 | 507 | 387,145 | Exome sequencing and analysis of 454,787 UK Biobank participants. |
| GCST90044053 | Jiang L | 2021 | 449 | 455,899 | A generalized linear mixed model association tool for biobank-scale data. |
| GCST90726955 | Kim HI | 2026 | 165 | 43,861 | Exome sequencing and analysis of 44,028 British South Asians enriched for high autozygosity. |
Variant details and genetic-evidence tiers
Tier distribution (top 50 variants)
| Tier | Variants |
|---|---|
| Tier 1: coding | 1 |
| Tier 2: splice/UTR | 1 |
| Tier 3: regulatory | 0 |
| Tier 4: intronic/intergenic | 12 |
MAF distribution
| Bucket | Variants |
|---|---|
| common (>=0.05) | 13 |
| low_freq (0.01-0.05) | 0 |
| rare (<0.01) | 0 |
| unknown | 1 |
Functional consequences
| Consequence | Count |
|---|---|
| intron_variant | 9 |
| intergenic_variant | 2 |
| missense_variant | 1 |
| 5_prime_UTR_variant | 1 |
| non_coding_transcript_exon_variant | 1 |
Top variants
| rsID | Chr | Pos | Alleles | MAF | Consequence | Gene | p-value | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rs72553883 | 17 | 16940415 | G>A,C,T | missense_variant | TNFRSF13B | 1e-14 | Tier 1: coding | |
| rs9542155 | 13 | 70005395 | T>C,G | 0.05 | intron_variant | KLHL1 | 2e-14 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs3003202 | 13 | 69997382 | T>A,C | 0.05 | intron_variant | KLHL1 | 3e-14 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs816340 | 3 | 125197035 | G>A | 0.05 | intron_variant | SLC12A8 | 1e-13 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs10849448 | 12 | 6384185 | A>G | 0.05 | 5_prime_UTR_variant | LTBR | 1e-12 | Tier 2: splice/UTR |
| rs1045267 | 2 | 111429464 | A>C,G,T | 0.05 | non_coding_transcript_exon_variant | MIR4435-2HG | 2e-12 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs1980080 | 3 | 125192997 | C>A,T | 0.05 | intron_variant | SLC12A8 | 9e-11 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs798490 | 7 | 2761908 | G>A,C | 0.05 | intron_variant | GNA12, AMZ1 | 3e-09 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs1456200 | 3 | 101940101 | G>A | 0.05 | intron_variant | RDUR | 9e-09 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs12082271 | 1 | 8189495 | G>A,C,T | 0.05 | intron_variant | LINC01714 | 9e-09 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs2572433 | 8 | 11243532 | A>C,G,T | 0.05 | intron_variant | LINC00529 | 1e-08 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs2976944 | 8 | 8413404 | T>A,C | 0.05 | intergenic_variant | PRAG1 - LINC02949 | 3e-08 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs1541374 | 4 | 105127203 | T>A,C,G | 0.05 | intergenic_variant | RNU6-351P - TET2 | 4e-08 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs9980837 | 21 | 38298570 | A>G | 0.05 | intron_variant | KCNJ15 | 7e-08 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
Genes & proteins
No associated-gene cohort resolved for this disease. Atlas builds the molecular and therapeutic sections — associated genes, protein families, druggability, pathways, interactions, and drug associations — by aggregating over a disease’s associated genes (resolved via GWAS / GenCC / ClinVar / CIViC), and none resolved here. This is expected for antibody-mediated, autoimmune, or otherwise non-gene-defined conditions; the curated evidence for this disease is its clinical features, GWAS susceptibility, and clinical trials (above).
Function
No pathway enrichment — requires an associated-gene cohort.
Therapeutics
No druggable-target or therapeutic data for this disease’s cohort.
Clinical trials & evidence
Clinical trials
Clinical trials: 10.
Phase distribution (across all retrieved trials)
| Phase | Trials |
|---|---|
| Not specified | 9 |
| PHASE4 | 1 |
Top trials by phase / activity
| NCT | Phase | Status | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCT06982105 | PHASE4 | RECRUITING | Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole vs. Clindamycin for the Treatment of Children With Invasive MRSA Infections |
| NCT06023550 | Not specified | RECRUITING | Complicated Infections in Otorhinolaryngology |
| NCT07577232 | Not specified | RECRUITING | Transoral Ultrasound Versus no Transoral Ultrasound in Diagnostic Workup of Peritonsillar Abscess |
| NCT01227200 | Not specified | UNKNOWN | The Effect of Adding Pain Relievers to Local Anesthesia Before Preforming Drainage in Peritonsillar Abscess |
| NCT01255670 | Not specified | COMPLETED | Penicillin and Metronidazole in Treatment of Peritonsillar Abscess |
| NCT01715610 | Not specified | WITHDRAWN | Assessing the Necessity of Prescribing Antibiotics (Clavulin or Clindamycin Versus Placebo) Post-peritonsillar Abscess Drainage |
| NCT01790477 | Not specified | COMPLETED | Auricular Acupuncture for The Treatment of Post-Tonsillectomy Pain |
| NCT03326661 | Not specified | UNKNOWN | Peritonsillar Abscess: Aspiration Versus Tonsillectomy a Chaud |
| NCT03824288 | Not specified | UNKNOWN | Ultrasound-Guided Aspiration of PTA vs Conventional Landmark Technique - a RCT |
| NCT04998513 | Not specified | WITHDRAWN | Medical Versus Surgical Treatment for Peritonsillar Abscesses |
Drugs tested across these trials (top 30)
| Molecule | Max phase | Trials referencing |
|---|---|---|
| PENICILLIN G | 4 | 3 |
| PENICILLIN V | 4 | 1 |
| SULFAMETHOXAZOLE | 4 | 1 |
| TRIMETHOPRIM | 4 | 1 |
| (R,R)-TRAMADOL | 0 | 1 |
Related Atlas pages
- Drugs: Penicillin G, Penicillin V, Sulfamethoxazole, Trimethoprim