Self-reported postoperative recovery in children after tonsillectomy compared to tonsillotomy

• Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) are the golden standard for the planning and follow-up of delivered care, which should also be an axiom for children. The current aims were to describe self-reported postoperative recovery in children after tonsil surgery, and to compare tonsillotomy and tonsillectomy in this aspect.Methods: 238 children (4-12 years) with a history of obstructive problems and/or recurrent tonsillitis were included. 48% were operated with tonsillotomy (TT) and 52% with total tonsillectomy (TE), all in day surgery. Postoperative recovery was assessed on days 1, 4 and 10 using the validated self-rating instrument, Postoperative Recovery in Children (PRiC), which includes 23 items covering different aspects of recovery after tonsil surgery. Results: Daily life activities (sleeping, eating and playing), and physical (e.g., headache, stomach ache, throat ache, otalgia, dizziness, nausea, defecation, urination) and emotional aspects (sadness, frightening dreams) were affected during the recovery period.The TE-girls showed higher scores than the boys in many factors. Children above 6 years of age reported higher values for the physical comfort variables while the younger group showed worse emotional states. Postoperative recovery improved from day 1 to 10 in all surgical groups. The TE-group had lower recovery compared to the TT-group (p < 0.01 – 0.001) in most items.Conclusion: The goal of postoperative management is to minimise or eliminate discomfort, facilitating the recovery process and avoiding complications. Children are able to describe their recovery after tonsil surgery, and thus, PRiC can serve as a PROM to obtain patient-centred data after tonsil surgery.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Caring Sciences w. Medical Focus

Omvårdnadsforskning med medicinsk inriktning

Caring sciences

Omvårdnadsvetenskap

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)