title: Multicentre prospective clinical application of the T14 paediatric outcome tool.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to measure changes in disease-specific quality of life in children following tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A multicentre prospective cohort study was performed involving seven ENT departments in England. A total of 276 children entered the study over a 2-month period: 107 underwent tonsillectomy and 128 adenotonsillectomy. Forty-one children referred with throat problems initially managed by watchful waiting were also recruited. The follow-up period was 12 months. Outcome measures were the T14, parental impressions of their child's quality of life and the number of days absent from school.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One-year follow-up data were obtained from 150 patients (52 per cent). The mean baseline T14 score in the non-surgical group was significantly lower (T14 = 23) than in the tonsillectomy group (T14 = 31) or the adenotonsillectomy group (T14 = 35; p < 0.001). There was a significant improvement in the T14 scores of responders in all groups at follow up. The effect size was 1.3 standard deviations (SD) for the non-surgical group, 2.1 SD for the tonsillectomy group and 1.9 SD for the adenotonsillectomy group. Between-group differences did not reach statistical significance. A third of children in the non-surgical group underwent surgery during the follow-up period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children who underwent surgical intervention achieved a significant improvement in disease-specific quality of life. Less severely affected children were managed conservatively and also improved over 12 months, but 1 in 3 crossed over to surgical intervention.
authors.affiliation: Evelina London Children's Hospital,Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust,London,UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hopkins
authors.affiliation: John Radcliffe Hospital,Oxford,UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Almeyda
authors.affiliation: Evelina London Children's Hospital,Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust,London,UK.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alreefy
authors.affiliation: Southampton Hospital,Gillingham,UK.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ismail-Koch
authors.affiliation: Medway Maritime Hospital,Gillingham,UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Birmingham Children's Hospital,Newcastle upon Tyne,UK.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Possamai
authors.affiliation: Freeman Hospital,Newcastle upon Tyne,UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.affiliation: Alder Hey Children's Hospital,Liverpool,UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Evelina London Children's Hospital,Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust,London,UK.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hore
mesh_terms: D000233:Adenoidectomy; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010608:Pharyngeal Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012008:Recurrence; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000601:surgery*; D014068:Tonsillectomy; D014069:Tonsillitis / Q000601:surgery*; D057832:Watchful Waiting
keywords: Adenoidectomy; Child; England; Follow-Up Studies; Outcomes Assessment (Health Care); Prospective Studies; Tonsillectomy