A prospective study on indications for tonsillectomy in childhood in Kirkuk

Abstract

Abstract Background: Childhood tonsillectomy is a common surgery with a risk of life-threatening perioperative complications. Although the appropriate decision of its indications necessitates considerable practical experience, physicians in different medical specialties tend to base their decisions about surgery on various clinical expertise and perspectives. Objectives: This study was conducted to draw attention to the prevalence and actual indications for tonsil surgeries in children. Materials and Methods: This prospective study included 600 children with tonsillitis of both genders, ages ranging from 5 to 15 years old, during the period from October 2020 to August 2022 in Kirkuk, Iraq. Initially, they were divided into two categories: the first included 525 patients (88%) without the need for surgery, while the other category included 75 patients (12%) who underwent tonsil surgery. Patients with tonsillitis undergoing tonsil surgery, 43 (57%) of them had undergone adenotonsillectomy, compared to 32 (43%) children who underwent tonsillectomy. Patients with recurrent tonsillitis amounted to 20 (62%), while patients with tonsillar hypertrophy reached 12 (38%) among those undergoing tonsillectomy. Results: Final obtained data showed that recurrent tonsillitis was significantly more in the age group from 11 to 15 than in the group from 5 to 10 years old. On the contrary, the tonsillar hypertrophy was significantly more in the 5–10 age group than in the other group. Conclusion: This study concluded that a high proportion of children with tonsillitis were cured without surgery, compared to a few frequencies that underwent tonsillectomy due to actual indications. Thus, surgery is not performed for all children with tonsillitis except when really needed to avoid consequences during and after surgery in pediatric patients.