Say No to Adenoidectomy for Recurrent Upper Respiratory Infections

For children referred to surgeons because of frequent URIs, adenoidectomy conferred no clinical benefit over watchful waiting.

Many children with chronic or recurrent upper respiratory infections (URIs) undergo adenoidectomy with or without myringotomy tube placement. Investigators in the Netherlands evaluated the efficacy of this practice in an open multicenter randomized trial that included 111 children (age range, 1–6 years) with recurrent URIs who were selected by surgeons for treatment with adenoidectomy. The children underwent adenoidectomy with or without myringotomy within 6 weeks or watchful waiting.

During 2 years of follow-up, the incidence of URI episodes per person-year (the primary outcome) did not differ significantly overall or during the first or second years between the adenoidectomy and watchful-waiting groups (overall incidence, 7.9 and 7.8 per p…

Reviewing Author

Peggy Sue Weintrub, MD

Say No to Adenoidectomy for Recurrent Upper Respiratory Infections

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Reviewing Author