Adenotonsillectomy and adenoidectomy in children: The impact of timing of surgery and post-operative outcomes
Access status:
Open Access
Type
ArticleAbstract
Aim
To investigate the impact of adenotonsillectomy (ADT) and adenoidectomy (AD) on child health and evaluated their post-operative complications.
Methods
We included all children aged <16 years undergoing ADT (tonsillectomy ± adenoidectomy) or AD in New South Wales, Australia, ...
See moreAim To investigate the impact of adenotonsillectomy (ADT) and adenoidectomy (AD) on child health and evaluated their post-operative complications. Methods We included all children aged <16 years undergoing ADT (tonsillectomy ± adenoidectomy) or AD in New South Wales, Australia, 2008–2017. Health information was obtained from administrative hospitalisation data. Rates of post-operative complications and reoperation were evaluated using generalised estimating equations and Kaplan–Meier methods, respectively. Results Out of 156 500 included children, 112 361 had ADT and 44 139 had AD. Population rates increased during 2008–2017 (ADT: 68–79 per 10 000 children; AD: 25–34 per 10 000), and children were increasingly operated on at a younger age. Overall, 7262 (6.5%) and 1276 (2.9%) children had post-operative complications (mostly haemorrhage), and 4320 (3.8%) and 5394 (12.2%) required reoperation, following ADT and AD, respectively. Complication rates were highest among children aged 0–1 years, lowest for those 2–5 years and increased with age thereafter. Three-year reoperation rates for children aged 0–1 years were 9.0% and 25.9% following ADT and AD, respectively, decreasing thereafter to 0.5% and 2.1% in children aged 12–13 years. Conclusions ADT and AD in Australian children have both increased in frequency and are being done at a younger age. Post-operative complications and reoperation rates highlight surgery is not without risk, especially for children under 2 years old. These findings support a more conservative approach to management of upper respiratory symptoms, with surgery reserved for cases where potential benefits are most likely to outweigh harms.
See less
See moreAim To investigate the impact of adenotonsillectomy (ADT) and adenoidectomy (AD) on child health and evaluated their post-operative complications. Methods We included all children aged <16 years undergoing ADT (tonsillectomy ± adenoidectomy) or AD in New South Wales, Australia, 2008–2017. Health information was obtained from administrative hospitalisation data. Rates of post-operative complications and reoperation were evaluated using generalised estimating equations and Kaplan–Meier methods, respectively. Results Out of 156 500 included children, 112 361 had ADT and 44 139 had AD. Population rates increased during 2008–2017 (ADT: 68–79 per 10 000 children; AD: 25–34 per 10 000), and children were increasingly operated on at a younger age. Overall, 7262 (6.5%) and 1276 (2.9%) children had post-operative complications (mostly haemorrhage), and 4320 (3.8%) and 5394 (12.2%) required reoperation, following ADT and AD, respectively. Complication rates were highest among children aged 0–1 years, lowest for those 2–5 years and increased with age thereafter. Three-year reoperation rates for children aged 0–1 years were 9.0% and 25.9% following ADT and AD, respectively, decreasing thereafter to 0.5% and 2.1% in children aged 12–13 years. Conclusions ADT and AD in Australian children have both increased in frequency and are being done at a younger age. Post-operative complications and reoperation rates highlight surgery is not without risk, especially for children under 2 years old. These findings support a more conservative approach to management of upper respiratory symptoms, with surgery reserved for cases where potential benefits are most likely to outweigh harms.
See less
Date
2022Source title
Journal of Paediatrics and Child HealthVolume
58Issue
9Publisher
WileyLicence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0Faculty/School
Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney School of Public HealthFaculty of Medicine and Health, Westmead Clinical School
Share