General practitioner consultations after a paediatric tonsillectomy.
General Practitioner (GP) consultations were audited in paediatric patients who have undergone an elective tonsillectomy on our unit over a 6 month period. As there is no formal follow-up, it is the department's practice to discuss with the patients the problems to expect following the operation. This is reinforced with a tonsillectomy advice sheet. An initial audit of GP consultations was performed by a telephone survey of the relevant GP. This revealed an attendance rate of 41%. Following the implementation of a change in management (chewing gum was added to the post operative care instructions) a subsequent audit of 91 children was performed. A marked reduction in the GP attendance was observed. We now routinely recommend the use of chewing gum in the post-operative period after tonsillectomy to our patients.
Jones
T M
TM
Department of Otolaryngology, Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool, UK.
Temple
R H
RH
Morar
P
P
Roland
N J
NJ
Rogers
J H
JH
D002638:Chewing Gum; D002648:Child; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014068:Tonsillectomy
D002638:Chewing Gum