title: General practitioner consultations after a paediatric tonsillectomy.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Temple
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Morar
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Roland
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Rogers
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D002638:Chewing Gum