May 23, 2026 · 9 min · 5 segments
This episode we look at differentiating viral and bacterial infections, using the feverPAIN score for tonsillitis to rule out viral causes. Otitis media is covered and the importance of identifying…
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This episode is gonna focus on kind of the difference between a viral and a bacterial infection, and we're gonna be focusing specifically on tonsillitis and otitis media.
The main aspect of this episode will be sort of how to debate this and discuss this with patients.
So often patients, specifically pediatric patients, might be brought in with significant concerns that they're quite unwell with sort of tonsillitis or otitis media.
We'll go through kind of how to manage expectations, how to kind of differentiate between a viral and a bacterial infection, and then some of the safety-netting, things like delayed prescriptions or further consultations that you can offer parents to help reassure them.
So Peter, to start, is gonna take you a little bit through viral and bacterial tonsillitis, and then we'll go through otitis media as well.
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This episode is gonna focus on kind of the difference between a viral and a bacterial infection, and we're gonna be focusing specifically on tonsillitis and otitis media.
The main aspect of this episode will be sort of how to debate this and discuss this with patients.
So often patients, specifically pediatric patients, might be brought in with significant concerns that they're quite unwell with sort of tonsillitis or otitis media.
We'll go through kind of how to manage expectations, how to kind of differentiate between a viral and a bacterial infection, and then some of the safety-netting, things like delayed prescriptions or further consultations that you can offer parents to help reassure them.
So Peter, to start, is gonna take you a little bit through viral and bacterial tonsillitis, and then we'll go through otitis media as well.