Forty-five patients with peritonsillar abscesses(PA) were treated by needle aspiration. Pus was drawn in 89%(40/45) of the cases at the first aspiration and repeated aspiration was necessary in 33%(15/45) of the patients. All of the patients were cured by needle aspiration without further invasive therapy and no serious complication was observed. 32 out of 45 patients were available for follow-up. Among them, three had another recurrent PA in situ and the other ten(31%) had recurrent tonsillitis. However, analysis showed that the patients under 35 years of age had higher recurreuce rate of PA of recurrent tonsillitis than those over 35 years old(P