title: Comparative audit of tonsillectomy.
abstract: The Comparative Audit Service of the Royal College of Surgeons of England undertook an audit of tonsillectomy throughout England and Wales in 1997. There were three parts to the audit: a management questionnaire related to tonsillectomy and its indications; an inpatient questionnaire for patients undergoing tonsillectomy; and a postoperative patient questionnaire. One hundred and fourteen ENT consultants returned the management questionnaire, 2450 questionnaires on inpatient details were returned by 132 consultants, and 1408 patients returned postoperative questionnaires. Two-thirds of the patients underwent tonsillectomy for recurrent acute tonsillitis, and most stayed 1 night in hospital; only 3% were day cases. Postoperative haemorrhage necessitated return to theatre for 0.75% of patients. Almost 7% of patients had to be readmitted after discharge. Overall, 92% of patients felt that their throat was better than before the operation, but slightly less than this number (88%) were pleased that they had the operation. The results are further discussed in the paper. The ability to cross-reference each part of the audit for individual patients proved extremely useful.
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, Guy's Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Faulconbridge
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Horrocks
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Topham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014068:Tonsillectomy / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014069:Tonsillitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology