Does tonsillectomy reduce medical care visits for pharyngitis/tonsillitis in children and adults? Retrospective cohort study from Sweden

Objective To assess the effectiveness of tonsillectomy/adenotonsillectomy in reducing medical care visits for pharyngitis or tonsillitis in children and adults with chronic/recurrent tonsillitis. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Data were retrieved from the VEGA register, a comprehensive regional cohort in Sweden. Participants 1044 children (<15 years) and 2244 adults. Intervention Tonsillectomy/adenotonsillectomy compared with no surgical treatment. Main outcome measures Changes in yearly mean rates of medical care visits due to pharyngitis/tonsillitis. Results In children, there was a significant decrease in the yearly mean medical care visits rate from 1.93 (1.82 to 2.04) before surgery to 0.129 (0.099 to 0.165) after surgery, with a mean change of ？1.80 (？1.90 to ？1.69), p<0.0001. In patients who did not undergo surgery, the corresponding mean change was ？1.51 (？1.61 to ？1.41), resulting in a mean difference in the change in visit rates between the intervention and control groups of ？0.283 (？0.436 to ？0.135), p=0.0002. In adults, a significant decrease in the yearly mean medical care visit rate was observed from 1.45 (1.39 to 1.51) before surgery to 0.152 (0.132 to 0.173) after surgery, with a mean change of ？1.30 (？1.36 to ？1.24), p<0.0001, compared with ？1.18 (？1.24 to ？1.13) in the control group. The difference in the change in yearly mean visit rate between the surgical and non-surgical groups was ？0.111 (？0.195 to ？0.028), p=0.0097. The subgroup analysis showed a greater effect of surgery in children, in patients with a higher number of medical care visits before surgery and in the first year of follow-up. Conclusion In this cohort of patients moderately or less affected with chronic/recurrent tonsillitis, the effectiveness of tonsillectomy/adenotonsillectomy in reducing medical care visits for pharyngitis and tonsillitis compared with no surgical treatment was low and of questionable clinical value