Tonsilar haemorrhage and re-admission: a questionnaire based study

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Surgical Outcomes
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Tonsil operations, including tonsillectomy, adenotonsillectomy, and tonsillotomy, are common procedures.
• Accurate assessment of postoperative hemorrhage is crucial for patient care and surgical quality improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the discrepancy between community-reported and hospital-recorded hemorrhage rates following tonsil operations.
• To evaluate the incidence of postoperative hemorrhage, need for revision surgery, and medical care required.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire-based study involving 695 consecutive patients undergoing tonsil operations.
• Data collection on bleeding episodes, revision surgeries, and medical interventions.
• Comparison of questionnaire data with hospital records.

Main Results:

• Of 407 respondents, 24.6% experienced postoperative bleeding, but only 19.4% were recorded in hospital records.
• Revision surgery due to hemorrhage was required in 4.7% of cases.
• An estimated overall hemorrhage rate of 21.4% for all 695 patients was determined by combining data sources.

Conclusions:

• The actual rate of postoperative hemorrhage after tonsil operations is considerably higher than hospital records suggest.
• Relying solely on hospital records underestimates bleeding episodes by up to 21%.
• Study design and the definition of postoperative bleeding significantly impact reported hemorrhage rates.