Safety of outpatient tonsillectomy in children: a review of 6 years in a tertiary hospital experience.
OBJECTIVE
We present our experience with outpatient tonsillectomy in children and critically review safety to support the outpatient policy.


METHODS
We conducted a retrospective chart review from January 1995 through December 2000 in the pediatric otolaryngology unit of a tertiary care university hospital.


RESULTS
One thousand two hundred forty-three patients were accepted in the outpatient program with permissive criteria. Postoperative observation time ranged from 3 to 5 hours (median, 4.5 hours). The overall rate of complications was 9.3% (n = 116). Primary and secondary bleeding rates were 6.27% (n = 78) and 0.48% (n = 6), respectively. Thirty-six children (2.9%) had major bleeding; 2 of them were not identified in day-hospital (0.16%). Discharge was delayed in 103 patients (8.3%), and 13 patients showed complications after discharge (about 1% readmission rate).


CONCLUSIONS
Our program outcomes support safety. Outpatient surgery is meant to provide comfort to the patient and efficiency to the health care system, without impairing safety; in our experience, most tonsillectomies in children comply with these objectives.


CONCLUSIONS
Outpatient tonsillectomy in children may be safe even with permissive criteria, when an appropriate setting is available.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, 12 de Octubre Hospital, Madrid, Spain. jgranelln@seorl.net
Jose
J
Granell
Pilar
P
Gete
Miguel
M
Villafruela
Caridad
C
Bolaños
Juan Jose Alvarez
JJ
Vicent
D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D019106:Postoperative Hemorrhage; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012449:Safety; D014068:Tonsillectomy