Variation in Quality of Care for Routine Tonsillectomy in the U.S.

Tonsillectomies are performed more than 500,000 times each year and are the second most common reason for care in U.S. children's hospitals. In 2011, the American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery practice guidelines recommended perioperative dexamethasone and no antibiotics following routine tonsillectomy in children (NEJM JW Pediatr Adolesc Med Feb 23 2011). Researchers retrospectively examined variations in care in the U.S. using data from the Pediatric Health Information System on children (age range, 1–18 years) who underwent tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy at 36 children's hospitals between 2004 and 2010.

Among nearly 140,000 low-risk children (47% of the cohort) for which the guidelines were most appropriate, mean age w…