Tonsillectomy, useless seven times out of eight



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Tonsillectomy, still too automatic? According to researchers at the University of Birmingham, out of 18,000 British children whose tonsils were removed, the procedure was justified only once in eight.

In the United Kingdom, the current policy to benefit tonsillectomy is as follows: the child must have been diagnosed with at least seven sore throats in one year, more than five sore throats a year, for 2 years or 3 sore throats throat per year for three consecutive years.

But is this policy really applied? Not really, according to researchers at the University of Birmingham. In badyzing the medical records of 18,000 British youth whose tonsils were removed, they found that very few fell into one of three categories. In fact, in only 11.7% of cases – more than 2,000 children – the removal of tonsils was justified.

Thus, according to the scientists, it would be some 32 500 children who would undergo each year an unnecessary tonsillectomy leading to a cost of 36.9 million pounds sterling. The authors also wonder about the need for such an act, which like any surgical act entails risks, in particular a haemorrhagic risk.

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