Patient contact with healthcare professionals after elective tonsillectomy.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the amount and causes of patient contact with healthcare professionals after elective tonsillectomy.


METHODS
This was a prospective study. All consecutive patients undergoing elective tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy in 1997 received a questionnaire concerning the post-discharge period.


RESULTS
A total of 276 patients (93.6%) answered questions regarding post-discharge contact. After their discharge, 43.8% of patients contacted healthcare professionals. Pain was the leading indication for telephone contact, and hemorrhage for visits in person. Information given over the telephone was sufficient in 49.5% of cases. Telephone contact was followed by a visit in person in the case of hemorrhage in 88.9% of patients and in the case of pain in 34.1%. Contact was made most frequently in the older age groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the patients repeatedly received both written and oral information, nearly half of them still contacted healthcare professionals during the recovery period. Frequent post-tonsillectomy contact should be taken into account when the financial and personnel resources of day surgery units are evaluated. In order to reduce the amount of post-tonsillectomy contact with healthcare professionals, careful attention must be paid to the quality of patient counseling prior to discharge.
Valtonen
Hannu
H
Department of Otolaryngology, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland. hannu.valtonen@kuh.fi
Qvarnberg
Yrjö
Y
Blomgren
Karin
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000628:therapy; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019106:Postoperative Hemorrhage / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014068:Tonsillectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*