Indications for Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy: Our Experience

Background: Infection and obstruction are the most common indications for performing tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. In the past, infection was the main indication for these procedures; however, in the last few decades obstruction is said to be more prominent as an indication when compared to infection.

Objective: The objective of this study was to report our observations of indications for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.

Materials And Methods: This is a 2 year retrospective analysis of case records of patients aged 0-18 years who have had tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy and adenotonsillectomy performed in a tertiary hospital.

Statistical Analysis Used: IBM SPSS (for windows, version 19) software was used to analyze this data.

Results: A total of 115 patient's records were reviewed. Moreover, 33.9% were children under 3 years, 60.0% were between 4 years and 10 years and 6.1% were between the ages of 11 years and 18 years. Obstruction accounted for a total of 68.7% while infection accounted for only 31.3% of the indication for these procedures.

Conclusion: Obstruction as an indication is proportionally higher in younger children while infection is proportionally higher in older children.