Day-case tonsillectomy in children: Experience from a Teaching Hospital in Jordan

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study has been conducted for the first time in Jordan to investigate safety issues relating to day-case tonsillectomies in childrens and to study the post-operative complication rate compared to tonsillectomies carried out with inpatient admission to hospital. Materials and methodsRetrospective review of medical charts of 419 pediatric patients who had undergone tonsillectomies. Patients were divided into two groups, with 103 patients in the inpatient group and 316 patients in the day-case group. A comparison is made between the clinical and demographic data of the patients studied and the postoperative complication rate. ResultsThe two main indications for tonsillectomy in all patients were recurrent infection and tonsillar hypertrophy. For instances of day-case tonsillectomy, only one patient had secondary post-tonsillectomy bleeding (0.32%); likewise, there was only one case of this reported for the inpatient group (1%), and there were no cases of reactionary hemorrhage reported in either groups. Statistical analysis failed to show a significant association between the inpatient and day-case surgery groups (P > 0.05) in terms of post-tonsillectomy bleeding. ConclusionWe found day-case tonsillectomy to be a safe procedure in children if the inclusion and exclusion criteria followed properly. The observation time following tonsillectomy is crucial to avoid the postoperative complications.