Variation in paediatric tonsillectomy rates between Scottish health board areas, 2001–2018: is socio-economic deprivation to blame?

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundTonsillectomy is one of the commonest operations in children. Routinely collected national data were used to assess variations in the paediatric tonsillectomy rate across Scotland, and to determine if socio-economic deprivation is the cause.MethodThe Scottish Morbidity Records were reviewed for all children (0–16 years) undergoing tonsillectomy from 2001 to 2018.ResultsThe mean annual tonsillectomy rate was 2.64 per 1000 children. Rates in each health board area varied from 1.24 to 3.9 per 1000. Half of this variation resulted from transfers between regions. There was a 1.75-fold difference between tonsillectomy rates in the most and least deprived population quintiles, but this did not account for the geographical variation.ConclusionHalf the variance in paediatric tonsillectomy rates is associated with children being transferred between regions for treatment. After accounting for this, there is a 1.5-fold difference in rate between health board areas, which is not related to socio-economic deprivation and is currently unexplained.