Socioeconomic variables as a predictor of indication for pediatric adenotonsillectomy

Adenotonsillectomy (AT) is a common pediatric procedure performed for sleep disordered breathing (SDB) or chronic/recurrent tonsillitis. A better understanding of factors associated with clinical indications for AT would positively contribute to patient-centered care of these conditions. Our objective is to assess the relationships between race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) and indications for adenotonsillectomy in pediatric patients.

A retrospective chart review was conducted for pediatric patients between the ages 0-18 years who underwent adenotonsillectomy between October 2012 and October 2017 at Boston Medical Center. Indication for surgery was categorized as sleep disordered breathing (SDB), tonsillitis, or other. Age, race, ethnicity, gender, language, distance to hospital and insurance type were collected as demographic variables. 9-Digit patient zip codes were matched to a corresponding area deprivation index (ADI) which combines 17 neighborhood level socioeconomic markers. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess for association between demographic variables and indication for adenotonsillectomy.

1315 children were included in this study (mean age = 6.4 years, 0-18 years). African American (OR = 3.90, p-value <0.0001), Latino (OR = 2.602, p-value < 0.0001), and Asian American (OR = 4.439, p-value = 0.0146) patients were more likely to have SDB as an indication than Caucasian patients. Among children undergoing AT for SDB, patients who received pre-operative polysomnogram were more likely to be under 2 years old, African American, Asian American, or of Hispanic ethnicity and have higher BMI than patients who were diagnosed clinically prior to surgery. There was no statistically significant association between indications for adenotonsillectomy and ADI, distance to hospital, insurance status or language. Males were more likely have to have SDB as an indication than females (OR = 1.67, p-value = 0.0014). Younger patients under two years of age were more likely to have SDB as an indication for surgery when compared to older patients.

We found significant relationships between indications for adenotonsillectomy and race and ethnicity as well as gender and age. Additionally, our study showed that indication for AT was not associated with either ADI or insurance status. This suggests that race and ethnicity are predictors of indication independent of SES. Knowledge of predictive factors of adenotonsillectomy indications may help to improve patient centered care.