Early post-tonsillectomy morbidity following hospital discharge: do patients and GPs know what to expect?
Tonsillectomy is a commonly performed operation; like many others there is increasing pressure for it to be performed as a day-case procedure, with no follow-up for the majority of patients. This paper presents the results of a prospective study of the incidence of post-tonsillectomy morbidity, the recognition of these symptoms by patients, and their management by general practitioners. The results indicate: a lack of awareness by patients of symptoms they might expect post-operatively, despite written and verbal information given; an over-prescription of antibiotics by general practitioners for normal post-operative symptoms such as throat pain, temporary voice changes and referred otalgia; and a failure by patients to recognise the importance of the potentially life-threatening complication of secondary haemorrhage from the tonsillar bed.
Kuo
M
M
Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.
Hegarty
D
D
Johnson
A
A
Stevenson
S
S
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards*; D005334:Fever / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014068:Tonsillectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*