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.
Granell
Jose
J
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, 12 de Octubre Hospital, Madrid, Spain. jgranelln@seorl.net
Gete
Pilar
P
Villafruela
Miguel
M
Bolaños
Caridad
C
Vicent
Juan Jose Alvarez
JJ
D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D019106:Postoperative Hemorrhage; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012449:Safety; D014068:Tonsillectomy