Muristek
Pediatric tonsillectomy is the first-line surgical treatment for children with obstructive sleep-disordered breathing or recurrent throat infections. Weighted survey data from 2009 to 2010 suggest that an estimated 340 000 ambulatory and 10 000 inpatient tonsillectomies are performed per year, making it one of the most common pediatric surgical procedures. The risks associated with tonsillectomy include severe pain, dehydration, respiratory failure, and bleeding. Posttonsillectomy bleeding is characterized as primary (<24 hours after surgery) and secondary (>24 hours after surgery). Although rare, severe complications can occur, including mortality. The possibility of mortality in otherwise healthy children, often from secondary bleeding leading to aspiration and cardiac arrest, is concerning for caregivers, primary care physicians, anesthesiologists, and otolaryngologists. However, data on risk factors and incidence of severe complications has remained elusive due to the challenge of collecting enough events to perform reliable statistical analysis.
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